Managing the Franc in Belgium and France : The Economic Consequences of the Exchange Rate Policies, 1925-1936

In Belgium as in France, the period between the wars was marked by a monetary stabilization in 1926 and a devaluation in the middle of the 1930s. This article compares the context and the consequences of these apparently similar exchange rate policies. The economic consequences of the stabilization were similar : the return to a fixed exchange rate, far from stimulating exports, heralded difficulties in the international sector and led to a shift in resources toward the domestic activity. This sectoral analysis calls into question the traditional interpretation of the prosperity of the late 19... Mehr ...