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In the early days, before most countries had central banks, countries operated under the gold standard, which entailed its own set of rules. The world supply of money was determined by the usable goId supply. New gold discoveries would lead to monetary expansions in recipient countries, which would then experience rises in prices and output. Contractions in the supply of usable gold would require contractions in prices and output. lf a country on its own over-inflated demand, say by fiscal policy, its demand would spilI over to foreigners and its gold would flow out. While the gold standard was in this sense self-regulating, it was not a perfect system. Monetary policy was not set consciously in terms of the economic needs of the country, but by the world gold market. The world gold stock would fluctuate in line with international discoveries, while the stock in particular countries reflected trade flows. There was no automatic provision for money or liquidity to grow in line with the normal production leveIs in the economy. John Taylor (1998) has shown that this regime was responsible for large fluctuations in real output, much less stability in real output than has been achieved in the post gold standard era. In the gold standard period of 1890-1905, for example, the US economy suffered five major recessions.

Remarks by governor E. M. Gramlich on 24th Annual conference of the eastern economic association. New York 2/27/98 (with adaptations).