Eichengreen has done research and published widely on the history and current operation of the international monetary and financial system. He received his A.B. from UC Santa Cruz in 1974. an M.A. in economics, an M.Phil. in economics, an M.A. in history, and a Ph.D. in economics from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
His best known work is the book Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression, 1919–1939, Oxford University Press, 1992. In his own book on the Great Depression, Ben Bernanke summarized Eichengreen's thesis as follows:
... [T]he proximate cause of the world depression was a structurally flawed and poorly managed international gold standard... For a variety of reasons, including among others a desire of the Federal Reserve to curb the US stock market boom, monetary policy in several major countries turned contractionary in the late 1920s—a contraction that was transmitted worldwide by the gold standard. What was initially a mild deflationary process began to snowball when the banking and currency crises of 1931 instigated an international "scramble for gold". Sterilization of gold inflows by surplus countries [the USA and France], substitution of gold for foreign exchange reserves, and runs on commercial banks all led to increases in the gold backing of money, and consequently to sharp unintended declines in national money supplies. Monetary contractions in turn were strongly associated with falling prices, output and employment. Effective international cooperation could in principle have permitted a worldwide monetary expansion despite gold standard constraints, but disputes over World War I reparations and war debts, and the insularity and inexperience of the Federal Reserve, among other factors, prevented this outcome. As a result, individual countries were able to escape the deflationary vortex only by unilaterally abandoning the gold standard and re-establishing domestic monetary stability, a process that dragged on in a halting and uncoordinated manner until France and the other Gold Bloc countries finally left gold in 1936.
The main evidence Eichengreen adduces in support of this view is the fact that countries that abandoned the gold standard earlier saw their economies recover more quickly.
His recent books include Global Imbalances and the Lessons of Bretton Woods (MIT Press 2006), The European Economy Since 1945 (Princeton University Press 2007), Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System (Oxford University Press 2011), The Populist Temptation: Economic Grievance and Political Reaction in the Modern Era (Oxford University Press 2018),[3] and In Defense of Public Debt (Oxford University Press 2021).
His most cited paper is Bayoumi and Eichengreen "Shocking Aspects of European Monetary Unification" (1993) which argued that the European Union was less suitable as a Single Currency Area than the United States. This diagnosis was confirmed[by whom?] in 2011 when external shocks caused the Eurozone Crisis.
International Monetary Arrangements for the 21st Century. Brookings Institution Press, 1994, ISBN0-8157-2276-1
Reconstructing Europe's Trade and Payments: The European Payments Union. University of Michigan Press, 1994, ISBN0-472-10528-0
Globalizing Capital: A History of the International Monetary System. Princeton University Press, 1996, ISBN0-691-02880-X; 2. Auflage ebd. 2008, ISBN0-691-13937-7
Vom Goldstandard zum EURO. Die Geschichte des internationalen Währungssystems. Wagenbach, Berlin 2000, ISBN3-8031-3603-2
European Monetary Unification: Theory, Practice, Analysis. The MIT Press, 1997 ISBN0-262-05054-4
with José De Gregorio, Takatoshi Ito & Charles Wyplosz: An Independent and Accountable IMF. Centre for Economic Policy Research, 1999, ISBN1-898128-45-6
Toward A New International Financial Architecture: A Practical Post-Asia Agenda. Institute for International Economics, 1999, ISBN0-88132-270-9
Financial Crises and What to Do About Them. Oxford University Press, 2002, ISBN0-19-925743-4
with Erik Berglöf, Gérard Roland, Guido Tabellini & Charles Wyplosz: Built to Last: A Political Architecture for Europe. CEPR, 2003, ISBN1-898128-64-2
Global Imbalances and the Lessons of Bretton Woods. The MIT Press, 2006, ISBN0-262-05084-6
The European Economy Since 1945: Co-ordinated Capitalism and Beyond. Princeton University Press, 2008, ISBN0-691-13848-6
Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System, Oxford University Press, New York 2010 ISBN978-0-19-975378-9
with Dwight H. Perkins and Kwanho Shin: From Miracle to Maturity: The Growth of the Korean Economy, Harvard University Asia Center. 2012, ISBN978-0674066755
Hall of Mirrors: The Great Depression, The Great Recession, and the Uses-and Misuses-of History, Oxford University Press, New York 2015 ISBN978-0-19-939200-1
How Global Currencies Work: Past, Present, and Future 2017
The Populist Temptation: Economic Grievance and Political Reaction in the Modern Era, Oxford University Press, New York 2018
In Defense of Public Debt, Oxford University Press, New York 2021
Barry Barry Barry Barry, Vale of Glamorgan Barry Buccaneers Barry & Enright Productions Barry Waterfront Barry Railway Company Barry University David Barry Robert Barry Barry Docks Barry baronets Marion Barry Patrick Barry Barry Island Barry Brown Paddy Barry De Barry family Boubacar Barry Barry Denny Barry Township, Michigan Rick Barry Barry (dog) Frederick Barry Alan Barry Gerald Barry Barry Davis Barry Lyndon Barry Callebaut Butlin's Barry Island Henry Barry Peter Barry Barry Comprehensive School Barry Town United F.C. Barry Cooper Barry Kelly Jack Barry Barry Jones Jeff Barry Thomas Barry …
Michael Barry James Barry (surgeon) Barry railway station Barry Farm Barry Allen Barry White Redmond Barry Barry Johnson Barry Smith Carrie & Barry Barry Williams Barry Clarke Barry Cryer Flash (Barry Allen) Charles Barry Frank Barry Barry Murphy Barry Wilson Barry Bishop Barry Brook The Barry Sisters Barry Baggley Admiral Barry Ousmane Barry Barry Sullivan Madame du Barry General Barry Barry Golson Barry Taylor Barry Gibb Barry Reed Edward B. Barry Barry Maguire Barry Clark John Wolfe Barry Barry Sadler Edward Barry Duane Barry Don "Red" Barry Barry Johnston Marion Christopher Barry Barry Goldwater Jr. Daniel Barry Barry Bonds Bradley Barry John Barry Dede Barry Richard Barry Francis Barry Gareth Barry Robert Smith-Barry William S. Barry Neale Barry Leonora Barry Pat Barry (kickboxer) Barry Cowan Barry McGee Harry Barry James Barry Barry Docks railway station Barry Crump The Adventures of Barry McKenzie Joseph Barry USS Barry (DDG-52) Luís Barry Barry Moore Barry Eichengreen Barry, Texas Barry Stevens Barry Island railway station Cheri Barry Barry Award (crime novel prize) Barry (TV series) John Barry (naval officer) Barry Livingston Barry Douglas Barry O'Sullivan Mamadou Barry D