At a time when monetary systems are under increasing pressure from external shocks and the need to combat recessionary trends, it is vital that we understand previous attempts to deal with such problems. Focusing on the career of Fritz Machlup, Connell presents the story of the Bellagio Group and its contribution to modern finance. Initiated by Machlup with William Fellner and Robert Triffin, the Bellagio Group was made up of thirty-two non-government academic economists. During the years between 1964 and 1977 the Group met eighteen times and made a series of recommendations for policymakers. Connell examines the Group's archives to find out what caused the need for a change in the gold standard, what macroeconomic effects the Bellagio Group's policies were expected to have and the extent of their influence on modern-day systems.
