Economic Sciences /16. Macroeconomics

Deshchenko A.Y. Shevchenko T.S.

Donetsk National University of Economics and Trade named after M. Tugan - Baranovsky

GLOBALIZATION OF THE MONETARY SYSTEM

The globalization of the world monetary system is unfolding from the very moment of its birth. At least some researches assert that in 330 B.C. Alexander the Great after having got victory over Persia managed to concentrate practically all gold anв silver of that time in his hands (about 9 thousand tons). Eventually, Macedonian tetradrachms became the world currency (in any event, on the territory of almost all known to Greeks acumens). Nevertheless, after the death of Grand General, the treasures spread throughout different kingdoms, overstooked the channels of currency circulation, and thus prompted the first inflation in the Mediterranean countries.

The next worldwide inflation was observed only in the 16-th century after the inflow of precious metals had com to Europe from the New World. According to some estimates, the volume of gold mining in the 16-17-th century reached nearly 3.4 thousand tons, i.e. a third of total amount of the yellow metal mined during the whole preceding history of mankind. In Spain, into which American gold was directed in the first place and in the greatest amounts, the prices in the 16-th century increased three and a half times.

Therefore, we can find examples of monetary crises and mechanisms of their global spreading in the history long before the emergence of the term «globalization» and before the appearance of anti-globalists accusations against separate superpowers, transnational banks and international financial institutions.

On the hand, when the progress of globalization in the monetary relations of recent decades and years are viewed from the standpoint of Hegelian dialectics, we can come to a conclusion that at the regular turn of development spiral quality transforms(from many settlement currencies to a single one) into quality: it is the process of emerging «global money», which reflects principally new socio-econonic relations in the world economic space. The emergence of the latter can signalize the outcome of the conflict unity of opposites – the single word monopolist commodity equivalent (gold money) and manifold notes of credit and fiduciary(paper) money of separate governments and central banks – which via negation of negation ( different « national » moneys negate the world's only(in its material from) gold money, and only after that the single world currency negates different «national currencies») comes to single world currency based on generality of credit relations in the modern world.

The duration of this stage in the evolution of the single world money can hardly be predicted today, as it the proceeds at changing speeds and along different(often opposite) vectors. The appearance of the world money in result of emissive activity of s single world central bank in its classical sense(let's call it «administrative scenario demands presence of a single world government, which is utopia. Nevertheless, there is another scenario – the «market» one, when the process of «crystallization» occurring in the mix of international monetary relations (national, regional, inter-regional, and global) leads to the emergence of super-currencies (the currencies of leading economies, such as US dollar, or «integration currencies», such as Euro), the market interdependence of which could gradually bring them to «amalgamation» ( in chemistry terms), thus creating a single currency.

The historical rivalry among these types of economic life organization has not come to an end yet, and the very fact of aссelerated glodalization proves the ambiguity of the present state of things. The same ambiguity can be observed in monetary relation. The practice of recent decades shows how devastating were the international financial crises for the markets of the countries with «pegged» exchange rates (Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia, Russia). A telling example was Argentina, with its peso fixed to US dollar. Nevertheless, the countries with «floating» currencies – Mexico, Turkey and South Africa – have not resisted the «waves» of currency fluctuation as well.

Another example relates to the principle of free movement of capital. The Breton Woods system stipulated for capital controls in cases of both inflow and especially outflow of capital. In the situation, which occurred during the Asian financial crisis, many experts pressed for immediate introduction of additional measures of this kind. In practice, however, only Malaysia did it. The governments of other countries declined, referring low effectiveness of administrative restrictions and simplicity of their avoidance.

Therefore, we might expect that the evolution of monetary relations globalization, − in following the development of money as an economic category,− will develop according to the laws of dialectics − not by simply rejecting the old.

1. Articles of Agreement. International Monetary Fund-Wash., D.C., 1993. − P.2.

2. Bulletin on Asia-Pacific Perspectives 2002/2003, p.96.

3. Cohen B.J. Organization the World's Money, p.94.

4. James H. International Cooperation Since Bretton Woods. − P. 87.

5. Currency Convertibility in Eastern Europe. Ed.By J.Williamson. – Wash., D.C., 1991.−P. 48.