ジェイムズ・ステユアートの為替論

抄録

In his doctrine of exchange, Steuart advanced a policy in which the exchange rate be kept at par by the state. He says that by a statesman's giving bills at par on all occasions, and being himself at the expense of transportation and insurance, in bringing home and sending off all balances, exchange would of itself come to par.
Today it is widely accepted that this policy of Steuart's is only a temporary expedient. It is said that Steuart intended this policy as an emergency measure meant to avoid an evil effect of the strong sterling rate. The statesman must not intervene under normal occasions; it is allowed only when the balance of payments is in his favor, and the strong sterling rate discourages exportation.
It is shown in this paper that this interpretation stems mainly from the following two factors. First, Steuart's theory is explained as a primitive equilibrium theory. Critics using this approach assert that Steuart's theory of political economy is fundamentally based on market mechanism, and that state intervention is allowed only as a temporary expedient. Second, they understood Steuart's term “high exchange” as “strong sterling rate, ” when Steuart points out that the “high exchange proves a prodigious discouragement to trade in general.”
But as we see in this paper, Steuart used this term to refer to a large detachment of the exchange rate from the par. A strong sterling rate, therefore, is expressed as “a price of exchange in favour of a country, ” and a very weak sterling rate is expressed as “high exchange against a country.” According to Steuart, the problem was not the high sterling rate, but the large fluctuations of the exchange. The detachment of the exchange rate from the par, whether it be over or under the par, “produces an instability in the profits upon trade.” Thus Steuart concludes “that it is greatly for the interest of a trading state to keep exchange, at all times, as nearly at par as possible.” This exchange policy enables bills of exchange to circulate according to the true sterling value.
The point I wish to emphasize in this paper is that this policy is a constituent of Steuart's monetary policy. Steuart regards bills of exchange as money, along with coins and bank notes. It holds true for bills, when Steuart states “It is of great consequence to a statesman to understand it (the doctrine of money) thoroughly; and it is of the last importance to trade and credit, that the money of a nation be kept stable and invariable.” Accordingly, Steuart enumerates this exchange policy, policy on coin, and policy on bank notes as three branches of “the whole policy of circulation.” In Steuart's theory of political economy, it is of great importance to appropriately supply circulation with stable and invariable money, and this doctrine of exchange must also be understood in this context.