eichengreen170_ Richard Baker In Pictures via Getty Images Images_blackwednesday Richard Baker/In Pictures via Getty Images Images

The Long Shadow of Black Wednesday

When the United Kingdom was forced to abandon the European Monetary System's exchange rate mechanism 30 years ago, British officials took it as a happy consequence that the UK would not qualify for the euro. But this meant that Britain would continue to have one foot in Europe and one foot out – until it finally put both out.

BERKELEY – This September 16 will mark 30 years since “Black Wednesday,” when the British pound was ignominiously ejected from the exchange rate mechanism (ERM) of the European Monetary System. Not all anniversaries are occasions for celebration. This one certainly is not.

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