The Latest Macroeconomic Analysis of International Payments

International economics theories, from the classical to the present ones, are an invaluable source of clues to find the missing pieces required for a full comprehension of international monetary disorders, clearly manifest in today’s world. All of them contribute to the development of the latest macroeconomic analysis of international payments. Dipping into Triffin’s and Rueff’s contributions, this chapter starts with an assessment of the shortcomings of the gold-exchange standard regime adopted following the Bretton Woods agreements. The chapter then deals with the pathology of the present system of international payments, delving into cross-border payments as a cause of inflation, the double charge of external debt servicing and the formation of countries’ sovereign debt. The chapter ends with Schmitt’s proposals for the reform of the international monetary system.