Bretton Woods
Bretton Woods was the postwar international monetary system built around fixed exchange rates and the U.S. dollar's reserve role.
Historical exchange-rate system terms that shaped modern reserve currencies and international monetary policy.
Bretton Woods and Dollar Standard explains exchange-rate measures, real and nominal currency values, currency regimes, pegs, floats, convertibility, devaluation, monetary standards, and capital controls used in finance.
Use these pages when currency movements, exchange-rate measurement, cross-border cash flows, country risk, or balance-of-payments pressure affects a finance decision. It sits inside Exchange Rate Systems and History, so readers can move up when the broader economics context matters.
This landing page points readers toward Bretton Woods, Bretton Woods Conference, Dollar Standard, Smithsonian Agreement, and Smithsonian Parities. Choose the narrower page when the term changes the evidence source, calculation, institution, market convention, risk exposure, or decision being made.
| Area | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Bretton Woods | Bretton Woods was the postwar international monetary system built around fixed exchange rates and the U.S. dollar’s reserve role. |
| Bretton Woods Conference | The Bretton Woods Conference was a seminal meeting in 1944 that established a framework for international monetary cooperation and fixed exchange rates. |
| Dollar Standard | A dollar standard is an international monetary arrangement in which the U.S. dollar serves as the main reserve and transaction currency. |
| Smithsonian Agreement | The Smithsonian Agreement of December 1971 marked the end of the fixed exchange rate system established at the Bretton Woods Conference, transitioning to floating exchange rates. |
| Smithsonian Parities | Smithsonian parities were the realigned fixed exchange rates negotiated after the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system. |
Currency explanations are educational and do not recommend a trade, hedge, transfer, or country allocation.
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Bretton Woods was the postwar international monetary system built around fixed exchange rates and the U.S. dollar's reserve role.
The Bretton Woods Conference was a seminal meeting in 1944 that established a framework for international monetary cooperation and fixed exchange rates.
A dollar standard is an international monetary arrangement in which the U.S. dollar serves as the main reserve and transaction currency.
The Smithsonian Agreement of December 1971 marked the end of the fixed exchange rate system established at the Bretton Woods Conference, transitioning to floating exchange rates.
Smithsonian parities were the realigned fixed exchange rates negotiated after the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system.