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The Nixon Shock was a series of economic measures undertaken by United States President Richard Nixon in 1971, the most significant of which was the unilateral cancellation of the direct convertibility of the United States dollar to gold. While Nixon's actions did not formally abolish the existing Bretton Woods system of international financial exchange, the suspension of one of its key components effectively rendered the Bretton Woods system inoperative. While Nixon publicly stated his intention to resume direct convertibility of the dollar after reforms to the Bretton Woods system had been implemented, all attempts at reform proved unsuccessful. By 1973, the Bretton Woods system was replaced ''de facto'' by a regime based on freely floating fiat currencies that remains in place to the present day. == Background == In 1944 in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, representatives from 44 nations met to develop a new international monetary system that came to be known as the Bretton Woods system. Conference members had hoped that this new system would “ensure exchange rate stability, prevent competitive devaluations, and promote economic growth." It was not until 1958 that the Bretton Woods System became fully operational. Countries now settled their international accounts in dollars that could be converted to gold at a fixed exchange rate of $35 per ounce, which was redeemable by the U.S. government. Thus, the United States was committed to backing every dollar overseas with gold. Other currencies were fixed to the dollar, and the dollar was pegged to gold. For the first years after World War II, the Bretton Woods system worked well. With the Marshall Plan, Japan and Europe were rebuilding from the war, and countries outside the US wanted dollars to spend on American goods — cars, steel, machinery, etc. Because the U.S. owned over half the world's official gold reserves — 574 million ounces at the end of World War II — the system appeared secure. However, from 1950 to 1969, as Germany and Japan recovered, the US share of the world's economic output dropped significantly, from 35% to 27%. Furthermore, a negative balance of payments, growing public debt incurred by the Vietnam War, and monetary inflation by the Federal Reserve caused the dollar to become increasingly overvalued in the 1960s.〔 In France, the Bretton Woods System was called "America's exorbitant privilege"〔Barry Eichengreen, ''Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International monetary system''()〕 as it resulted in an "asymmetric financial system" where non-US citizens "see themselves supporting American living standards and subsidizing American multinationals". As American economist Barry Eichengreen summarized: "It costs only a few cents for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to produce a $100 bill, but other countries had to pony up $100 of actual goods in order to obtain one".〔Barry Eichengreen, ''Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International monetary system''()〕 In February 1965 President Charles de Gaulle announced his intention to exchange its U.S. dollar reserves for gold at the official exchange rate.〔Margaret Garritsen de Vries, ''The International Monetary Fund, 1966-1971'' ()〕 By 1966, non-US central banks held $14 billion, while the United States had only $13.2 billion in gold reserve. Of those reserves, only $3.2 billion was able to cover foreign holdings as the rest was covering domestic holdings.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/center/mm/eng/sc_sub_3.htm )〕 By 1971, the money supply had increased by 10%.〔()〕 In May 1971, West Germany left the Bretton Woods system, unwilling to revalue the Deutsche Mark. In the following three months, this move strengthened its economy. Simultaneously, the dollar dropped 7.5% against the Deutsche Mark.〔 Other nations began to demand redemption of their dollars for gold. Switzerland redeemed $50 million in July.〔 France acquired $191 million in gold.〔 On August 5, 1971, the United States Congress released a report recommending devaluation of the dollar, in an effort to protect the dollar against "foreign price-gougers".〔 On August 9, 1971, as the dollar dropped in value against European currencies, Switzerland left the Bretton Woods system.〔 The pressure began to intensify on the United States to leave Bretton Woods. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nixon Shock」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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