Under the international gold standard, the balance of payments of all countries is self-regulated. According to Hume's "price cash flow mechanism", the imbalance of international payments will cause the flow of gold, and the flow of gold will cause the corresponding price level changes.
1. Therefore, the corresponding increase or decrease in commodity output and input will restore the balance of payments. However, the spontaneous adjustment mechanism needs to meet certain preconditions and must abide by the monetary discipline of the international gold standard; The free trade system must be observed, and the demand price elasticity of import and export commodities must meet Marshall requirements and Lerner conditions. Because these conditions are usually difficult to meet, the effect of spontaneous adjustment of balance of payments is not very ideal. Even if external balance is achieved, it is usually at the expense of internal balance. Under the condition of international gold standard, when a country's balance of payments is unbalanced, the following methods can be adopted: foreign exchange buffer policy.
2. All countries have a certain amount of international reserves as foreign exchange stabilization funds to cope with the temporary imbalance of international payments. Under this policy, when the balance of payments is unbalanced, the central bank buys and sells foreign exchange in the foreign exchange market to adjust the supply and demand of foreign exchange. In this way, the impact of balance of payments changes will stop at the stage of foreign exchange reserves, and will not affect the domestic economy and finance. However, the effect of foreign exchange buffer policy is limited and cannot be used to solve the persistent balance of payments deficit. It is unable to cope with large-scale capital flight. Adjust the exchange rate. As a way to balance the balance of payments, adjusting the exchange rate needs to depreciate when there is a deficit; If there is a surplus, it will appreciate. Generally speaking, devaluation can improve the balance of payments, while appreciation will worsen the balance of payments.
3. Whether the balance of payments regulated by exchange rate can play a role depends on the specific situation. If a country does not meet Marshall Lerner's conditions, devaluation will not improve the balance of payments. Even if Marshall Lerner's conditions are met, if the devaluation of the country's currency causes other countries to retaliate and take a larger devaluation, the devaluation of the country's currency will not improve the balance of payments.