This chapter traces the changing role of Britain in the international economy by focusing on four important international economic relations: international trade, international investment, international migration and international monetary relations. This was partly due to the legacy of Britain's role in international investment, discussed in the next section. The authors have seen that Britain was a major contributor to the globalisation of the international economy through trade and investment in the late nineteenth century. The decision to return to the pre-war exchange rate was taken partly for political reasons; the public expected it, the rate had a symbolic resonance of Britain's leadership in the international economy and a lower rate would disappoint overseas holders of sterling by devaluing their assets. A central question about Britain's role in the international economy throughout the long twentieth century has been whether international economic relations and Britain's policy of openness had a positive or negative impact on the performance of the British economy.
