Part one of term paper
The need for an organization like the IMF became evident during the Great Depression that ravaged the world economy in the 1930s. Most of us are familiar with that era through dramatic photographs of farms eroding away in duststorms and of lines of jobless men waiting to enter soup kitchens. The Depression was devastating to all forms of econ ...

Part two of term paper
... in search of jobs that did not exist. The devastation was not confined to the visible economy. It was no less destructive of the unseen world of international finance and monetary exchange. A widespread lack of confidence in paper money led to a demand for gold beyond what national treasuries could supply. A number of nations, led by the United Kingdom, were consequently forced to abandon the gold standard, which, by defining the value of each currency in terms of a given amount of gold, had fo ...