Forgotten Foundations of Bretton Woods

Book cover of Forgotten Foundations of Bretton Woods: International Development and the Making of the Postwar Order

Book description

"Forgotten Foundations is classic interdisciplinary history, drawing on literatures from political science and economics as well as primary sources.... Helleiner has made an important contribution that will permanently re-frame how scholars conceptualize Bretton Woods." Journal of Interdisciplinary History

Eric Helleiner's new book provides a powerful corrective to conventional accounts of…

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Economic development

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Why read it?

1 author picked Forgotten Foundations of Bretton Woods as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Stephen C. Nelson

Author

This book is about the planners who set about devising the rules and institutions of the post-WWII international economic order.

The conventional story is that institutions like the IMF and World Bank were mainly creations of American and British policymakers, and the rules enshrined in those institutions reflect narrowly Anglo-American ideas and interests. But Helleiner’s amazing historical research reveals that officials from countries in the so-called “periphery” of the world economy (like China, India, and Brazil) had much more influence in these negotiations than we realized.

Their courageous efforts ensured that some of their developmental ideas (aimed at reducing the…

From Stephen's list on politics that shaped international economic order.