“History Doesn't Repeat Itself, It Rhymes”: a New Plaza to Limit the Fluctuations of the Dollar?

Christian BORDES * Professeur émérite, Université Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne). Contact : bordes.christian@wanadoo.fr.L'auteur tient à remercier André Cartapanis, Dominique Lacoue-Labarthe et Marc-Alexandre Sénégas, pour leurs remarques sur une version préliminaire de cet article, ainsi que Roberto Mialich, pour les informations fournies. Le contenu de cette version finale n'engage que l'auteur.

Can the plaza agreement, which aimed to limit the dollar's excessive rise, be repeated today? obviously, conditions have changed and the real risk for the world economy is twofold, that of significant currency and exchange rate volatility and the still hypothetical but real risk of a fall in the dollar. the article attempts to consider these different categories through the evolution of foreign exchange markets and central bank policies over the last twenty years.