Center for International and Development Economics Research

In this paper we show that the spread of the classical gold standard in the late nineteenth century increased international trade flows. This positive effect was compounded whenever a group of countries formed a monetary union. Applying the gravity model of trade to more than 1,100 country pairs during the 1870-1910 period, we find that two countries on gold would trade 60 percent more with each other than with countries on a different monetary standard. Moreover, a monetary union would more than double bilateral trade flows. Our findings are relevant for current discussions on alternative monetary arrangements for the twenty-first century.