From a leading economic historian, this is the history of the institutions and individuals who have managed the global economy, from the World Monetary and Economic Conference in the wake of the Great Depression to the present

Since the Second World War, organisations created at Bretton Woods - the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development - and afterwards - the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - have left an indelible mark on our contemporary world.

Martin Daunton examines the swings of the pendulum over ninety years between the forces of democracy, national determination and globalization. He shows that the structures of economic government have been overwhelmingly shaped by 'first world' powers, often to the dismay of developing countries. He argues that whilst structures cannot be separated from the politics of and between the biggest economies, future global recovery rests on the reduction of inequality and that multilateral institutions are fundamental in fostering inclusive growth.

"[A] capacious and timely history... Offering us a realistic assessment of what American-led governance of the world economy actually entails, Daunton's account is essential reading. Postheroic and disillusioned, this is a history for our times." - Financial Times

"This new book is a history of the institutions and individuals who sought to manage the global economy over the last century. It is a huge topic, and a big book – but readers need not be discouraged as Daunton makes the story accessible and absorbing, explaining how successive orders begin to fail, break down (often painfully) and then are hesitantly replaced, with the succeeding order modified and adapted to changing circumstances until it, too, begins to weaken." - BBC History Magazine