金本位制(gold standard)

通货本位为一固定的黄金量或保持为一固定的黄金量价值的货币制度，通货可按本位的含金量在国内或国外自由兑换成黄金。1821年英国首先实行金本位制；到1870年代，德国、法国和美国也相继采用金本位制，主要是因为当时在北美新发现黄金，使黄金的供应更加充足。但实行完备的金本位制的时期并不长，仅延续至第一次世界大战爆发时为止；战时，差不多每个国家都恢复使用不可兑换的纸币或限制黄金出口。到1928年，实质上又恢复实行金本位制；虽然由於黄金比较稀少，多数国家采用金汇兑本位制，即这些国家可利用按稳定汇率兑换成黄金的通货（美元和英镑）补足其中央银行的黄金储备。然而在1930年代的大萧条期间，金汇兑本位又陷於崩溃，到1937年已没有任何国家实行完备的金本位制。1971年美国的黄金储备日渐减少，而国际收支中逆差日渐上升，不得不在国际支付中暂停按固定汇率将美元自由兑换成黄金。从此，国际货币体系是以美元及其他纸币为基础，而黄金在世界汇兑中的官方作用就此结束。亦请参阅bimetallism、silver standard。

English version：

gold standard

Monetary system in which the standard unit of currency is a fixed quantity of gold or is freely convertible into gold at a fixed price. The gold standard was first adopted in Britain in 1821. Germany, France, and the U.S. instituted it in the 1870s, prompted by North American gold strikes that increased the supply of gold. The gold standard ended with the outbreak of World War I in 1914; it was reestablished in 1928, but because of the relative scarcity of gold, most nations adopted a gold-exchange standard, supplementing their gold reserves with currencies (U.S. dollars and British pounds) convertible into gold at a stable rate of exchange. Though the gold-exchange standard collapsed again during the Great Depression, the U.S. set a minimum dollar price for gold, an action that allowed for the restoration of an international gold standard after World War II. In 1971 dwindling gold reserves and an unfavorable balance of payments led the U.S. to suspend the free convertibility of dollars into gold, and the gold standard was abandoned. See also bimetallism, exchange rate, silver standard.