document_title: Gold standard

question_text: when did the us dollar leave the gold standard

question_tokens: when did the us dollar leave the gold standard

text: Gold standard

text: History

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text: Origin

text: The gold specie standard arose from the widespread acceptance of gold as currency.[5] Various commodities have been used as money; typically, the one that loses the least value over time becomes the accepted form.[6] Chemically, gold is of all major metals the one most resistant to corrosion.[citation needed]

text: The use of gold as money began thousands of years ago in Asia Minor.[7]

text: During the early and high Middle Ages, the Byzantine gold solidus, commonly known as the bezant, was used widely throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. However, as the Byzantine Empire's economic influence declined, so too did the use of the bezant.[8] In its place, European territories chose silver as their currency over gold, leading to the development of silver standards.[citation needed]

text: Silver pennies based on the Roman denarius became the staple coin of Mercia in Great Britain around the time of King Offa, circa 757–796 CE.[9] Similar coins, including Italian denari, French deniers, and Spanish dineros, circulated in Europe. Spanish explorers discovered silver deposits in Mexico in 1522 and at Potosí in Bolivia in 1545.[10] International trade came to depend on coins such as the Spanish dollar, the Maria Theresa thaler, and, later, the United States trade dollar.[citation needed]

text: In modern times, the British West Indies was one of the first regions to adopt a gold specie standard. Following Queen Anne's proclamation of 1704, the British West Indies gold standard was a de facto gold standard based on the Spanish gold doubloon. In 1717, Sir Isaac Newton, the master of the Royal Mint, established a new mint ratio between silver and gold that had the effect of driving silver out of circulation and putting Britain on a gold standard.[11][self-published source]

text: A formal gold specie standard was first established in 1821, when Britain adopted it following the introduction of the gold sovereign by the new Royal Mint at Tower Hill in 1816. The United Province of Canada in 1853, Newfoundland in 1865, and the United States and Germany (de jure) in 1873 adopted gold. The United States used the eagle as its unit, Germany introduced the new gold mark, while Canada adopted a dual system based on both the American gold eagle and the British gold sovereign.[citation needed]

text: Australia and New Zealand adopted the British gold standard, as did the British West Indies, while Newfoundland was the only British Empire territory to introduce its own gold coin. Royal Mint branches were established in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth for the purpose of minting gold sovereigns from Australia's rich gold deposits.[citation needed]

text: The gold specie standard came to an end in the United Kingdom and the rest of the British Empire with the outbreak of World War I.[citation needed]

text: Silver

text: From 1750 to 1870, wars within Europe as well as an ongoing trade deficit with China (which sold to Europe but had little use for European goods) drained silver from the economies of Western Europe and the United States. Coins were struck in smaller and smaller numbers, and there was a proliferation of bank and stock notes used as money.

text: United Kingdom

text: In the 1790s, the United Kingdom suffered a silver shortage. It ceased to mint larger silver coins and instead issued "token" silver coins and overstruck foreign coins. With the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Bank of England began the massive recoinage programme that created standard gold sovereigns, circulating crowns, half-crowns and eventually copper farthings in 1821. The recoinage of silver after a long drought produced a burst of coins. The United Kingdom struck nearly 40 million shillings between 1816 and 1820, 17 million half crowns and 1.3 million silver crowns.

text: The 1819 Act for the Resumption of Cash Payments set 1823 as the date for resumption of convertibility, which was reached by 1821. Throughout the 1820s, small notes were issued by regional banks. This was restricted in 1826, while the Bank of England was allowed to set up regional branches. In 1833 however, Bank of England notes were made legal tender and redemption by other banks was discouraged. In 1844, the Bank Charter Act established that Bank of England notes were fully backed by gold and they became the legal standard. According to the strict interpretation of the gold standard, this 1844 act marked the establishment of a full gold standard for British money.

text: United States

text: In the 1780s, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Morris and Alexander Hamilton recommended to Congress the value of a decimal system. This system would also apply to monies in the United States. The question was what type of standard: gold, silver or both.[12] The United States adopted a silver standard based on the Spanish milled dollar in 1785.

text: International

text: From 1860 to 1871 various attempts to resurrect bi-metallic standards were made, including one based on the gold and silver franc; however, with the rapid influx of silver from new deposits, the expectation of scarce silver ended.

text: The interaction between central banking and currency basis formed the primary source of monetary instability during this period. The combination of a restricted supply of notes, a government monopoly on note issuance and indirectly, a central bank and a single unit of value produced economic stability. Deviation from these conditions produced monetary crises.

text: Devalued notes or leaving silver as a store of value caused economic problems. Governments, demanding specie as payment, could drain the money out of the economy. Economic development expanded need for credit. The need for a solid basis in monetary affairs produced a rapid acceptance of the gold standard in the period that followed.

text: Japan

text: Following Germany's decision after the 1870–1871 Franco-Prussian War to extract reparations to facilitate a move to the gold standard, Japan gained the needed reserves after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895. For Japan, moving to gold was considered vital for gaining access to Western capital markets.[13]

text: Bimetallic standard

text: US: Pre-Civil War

text: In 1792, Congress passed the Mint and Coinage Act. It authorized the federal government's use of the Bank of the United States to hold its reserves, as well as establish a fixed ratio of gold to the U.S. dollar. Gold and silver coins were legal tender, as was the Spanish real. In 1792 the market price of gold was about 15 times that of silver.[12] Silver coins left circulation, exported to pay for the debts taken on to finance the American Revolutionary War. In 1806 President Jefferson suspended the minting of silver coins. This resulted in a derivative silver standard, since the Bank of the United States was not required to fully back its currency with reserves. This began a long series of attempts by the United States to create a bi-metallic standard.

text: The intention was to use gold for large denominations, and silver for smaller denominations. A problem with bimetallic standards was that the metals' absolute and relative market prices changed. The mint ratio (the rate at which the mint was obligated to pay/receive for gold relative to silver) remained fixed at 15 ounces of silver to 1 ounce of gold, whereas the market rate fluctuated from 15.5 to 1 to 16 to 1. With the Coinage Act of 1834, Congress passed an act that changed the mint ratio to approximately 16 to 1. Gold discoveries in California in 1848 and later in Australia lowered the gold price relative to silver; this drove silver money from circulation because it was worth more in the market than as money.[14] Passage of the Independent Treasury Act of 1848 placed the U.S. on a strict hard-money standard. Doing business with the American government required gold or silver coins.

text: Government accounts were legally separated from the banking system. However, the mint ratio (the fixed exchange rate between gold and silver at the mint) continued to overvalue gold. In 1853, the US reduced the silver weight of coins to keep them in circulation and in 1857 removed legal tender status from foreign coinage. In 1857 the final crisis of the free banking era began as American banks suspended payment in silver, with ripples through the developing international financial system. Due to the inflationary finance measures undertaken to help pay for the US Civil War, the government found it difficult to pay its obligations in gold or silver and suspended payments of obligations not legally specified in specie (gold bonds); this led banks to suspend the conversion of bank liabilities (bank notes and deposits) into specie. In 1862 paper money was made legal tender. It was a fiat money (not convertible on demand at a fixed rate into specie). These notes came to be called "greenbacks".[14]

text: US: Post-Civil War

text: After the Civil War, Congress wanted to reestablish the metallic standard at pre-war rates. The market price of gold in greenbacks was above the pre-War fixed price ($20.67 per ounce of gold) requiring deflation to achieve the pre-War price. This was accomplished by growing the stock of money less rapidly than real output. By 1879 the market price matched the mint price of gold. The coinage act of 1873 (also known as the Crime of ‘73) demonetized silver. This act removed the 412.5 grain silver dollar from circulation. Subsequently silver was only used in coins worth less than $1 (fractional currency). With the resumption of convertibility on June 30, 1879 the government again paid its debts in gold, accepted greenbacks for customs and redeemed greenbacks on demand in gold. Greenbacks were therefore perfect substitutes for gold coins. During the latter part of the nineteenth century the use of silver and a return to the bimetallic standard were recurrent political issues, raised especially by William Jennings Bryan, the People's Party and the Free Silver movement. In 1900 the gold dollar was declared the standard unit of account and a gold reserve for government issued paper notes was established. Greenbacks, silver certificates, and silver dollars continued to be legal tender, all redeemable in gold.[14]

text: Fluctuations in the US gold stock, 1862–1877

text:
US gold stock

1862
59 tons

1866
81 tons

1875
50 tons

1878
78 tons

text: The US had a gold stock of 1.9 million ounces (59 t) in 1862. Stocks rose to 2.6 million ounces (81 t) in 1866, declined in 1875 to 1.6 million ounces (50 t) and rose to 2.5 million ounces (78 t) in 1878. Net exports did not mirror that pattern. In the decade before the Civil War net exports were roughly constant; postwar they varied erratically around pre-war levels, but fell significantly in 1877 and became negative in 1878 and 1879. The net import of gold meant that the foreign demand for American currency to purchase goods, services, and investments exceeded the corresponding American demands for foreign currencies. In the final years of the greenback period (1862–1879), gold production increased while gold exports decreased. The decrease in gold exports was considered by some to be a result of changing monetary conditions. The demands for gold during this period were as a speculative vehicle, and for its primary use in the foreign exchange markets financing international trade. The major effect of the increase in gold demand by the public and Treasury was to reduce exports of gold and increase the Greenback price of gold relative to purchasing power.[15]

text: Gold exchange standard

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text: Towards the end of the 19th century, some silver standard countries began to peg their silver coin units to the gold standards of the United Kingdom or the United States. In 1898, British India pegged the silver rupee to the pound sterling at a fixed rate of 1s 4d, while in 1906, the Straits Settlements adopted a gold exchange standard against sterling, fixing the silver Straits dollar at 2s 4d.

text: Around the start of the 20th century, the Philippines pegged the silver peso/dollar to the U.S. dollar at 50 cents. This move was assisted by the passage of the Philippines Coinage Act by the United States Congress on March 3, 1903.[16] Around the same time Mexico and Japan pegged their currencies to the dollar. When Siam adopted a gold exchange standard in 1908, only China and Hong Kong remained on the silver standard.

text: When adopting the gold standard, many European nations changed the name of their currency, for instance from Daler (Sweden and Denmark) or Gulden (Austria-Hungary) to Crown, since the former names were traditionally associated with silver coins and the latter with gold coins.

text: Impact of World War I

text: Governments with insufficient tax revenue suspended convertibility repeatedly in the 19th century. The real test, however, came in the form of World War I, a test which "it failed utterly" according to economist Richard Lipsey.[5]

text: By the end of 1913, the classical gold standard was at its peak but World War I caused many countries to suspend or abandon it.[17] According to Lawrence Officer the main cause of the gold standard’s failure to resume its previous position after World War 1 was “the Bank of England's precarious liquidity position and the gold-exchange standard.” A run on sterling caused Britain to impose exchange controls that fatally weakened the standard; convertibility was not legally suspended, but gold prices no longer played the role that they did before.[18] In financing the war and abandoning gold, many of the belligerents suffered drastic inflations. Price levels doubled in the US and Britain, tripled in France and quadrupled in Italy. Exchange rates changed less, even though European inflations were more severe than America’s. This meant that the costs of American goods decreased relative to those in Europe. Between August 1914 and spring of 1915, the dollar value of US exports tripled and its trade surplus exceeded $1 billion for the first time.[19]

text: Ultimately, the system could not deal quickly enough with the large balance of payments deficits and surpluses; this was previously attributed to downward wage rigidity brought about by the advent of unionized labor, but is now considered as an inherent fault of the system that arose under the pressures of war and rapid technological change. In any case, prices had not reached equilibrium by the time of the Great Depression, which served to kill off the system completely.[5]

text: For example, Germany had gone off the gold standard in 1914, and could not effectively return to it because War reparations had cost it much of its gold reserves. During the Occupation of the Ruhr the German central bank (Reichsbank) issued enormous sums of non-convertible marks to support workers who were on strike against the French occupation and to buy foreign currency for reparations; this led to the German hyperinflation of the early 1920s and the decimation of the German middle class.

text: The US did not suspend the gold standard during the war. The newly created Federal Reserve intervened in currency markets and sold bonds to “sterilize”[vague] some of the gold imports that would have otherwise increased the stock of money.[citation needed] By 1927 many countries had returned to the gold standard.[14] As a result of World War 1 the United States, which had been a net debtor country, had become a net creditor by 1919.[20]

text: Abandonment of the gold standard

text: The gold specie standard ended in the United Kingdom and the rest of the British Empire at the outbreak of World War I, when Treasury notes replaced the circulation of gold sovereigns and gold half sovereigns. Legally, the gold specie standard was not repealed. The end of the gold standard was successfully effected by the Bank of England through appeals to patriotism urging citizens not to redeem paper money for gold specie. It was only in 1925, when Britain returned to the gold standard in conjunction with Australia and South Africa that the gold specie standard was officially ended.

text: The British Gold Standard Act 1925 both introduced the gold bullion standard and simultaneously repealed the gold specie standard. The new standard ended the circulation of gold specie coins. Instead, the law compelled the authorities to sell gold bullion on demand at a fixed price, but "only in the form of bars containing approximately four hundred ounces troy [12 kg] of fine gold".[21][22] John Maynard Keynes, citing deflationary dangers, argued against resumption of the gold standard.[23] By fixing the price at the pre-war rate of $4.86, Churchill is argued to have made an error that led to depression, unemployment and the 1926 general strike. The decision was described by Andrew Turnbull as a "historic mistake".[24]

text: Many other countries followed Britain in returning to the gold standard, this was followed by a period of relative stability but also deflation.[25] This state of affairs lasted until the Great Depression (1929–1939) forced countries off the gold standard. In September 19, 1931, speculative attacks on the pound forced Britain to abandon the gold standard. Loans from American and French Central Banks of £50,000,000 were insufficient and exhausted in a matter of weeks, due to large gold outflows across the Atlantic.[26][27][28] The British benefited from this departure. They could now use monetary policy to stimulate the economy. Australia and New Zealand had already left the standard and Canada quickly followed suit.

text: The interwar partially backed gold standard was inherently unstable, because of the conflict between the expansion of liabilities to foreign central banks and the resulting deterioration in the Bank of England's reserve ratio. France was then attempting to make Paris a world class financial center, and it received large gold flows as well.[29]

text: In May 1931 a run on Austria's largest commercial bank caused it to fail. The run spread to Germany, where the central bank also collapsed. International financial assistance was too late and in July 1931 Germany adopted exchange controls, followed by Austria in October. The Austrian and German experiences, as well as British budgetary and political difficulties, were among the factors that destroyed confidence in sterling, which occurred in mid-July 1931. Runs ensued and the Bank of England lost much of its reserves.

text: Depression and World War II

text: Great Depression

text: Some economic historians, such as Barry Eichengreen, blame the gold standard of the 1920s for prolonging the economic depression which started in 1929 and lasted for about a decade.[31] In the United States, adherence to the gold standard prevented the Federal Reserve from expanding the money supply to stimulate the economy, fund insolvent banks and fund government deficits that could "prime the pump" for an expansion. Once off the gold standard, it became free to engage in such money creation. The gold standard limited the flexibility of the central banks' monetary policy by limiting their ability to expand the money supply. In the US, the central bank was required by the Federal Reserve Act (1913) to have gold backing 40% of its demand notes.[32] Others including former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Nobel Prize-winner Milton Friedman place the blame for the severity and length of the Great Depression at the feet of the Federal Reserve, mostly due to the deliberate tightening of monetary policy even after the gold standard.[33] They blamed the US major economic contraction in 1937 on tightening of monetary policy resulting in higher cost of capital, weaker securities markets, reduced net government contribution to income, the undistributed profits tax and higher labor costs.[34] The money supply peaked in March 1937, with a trough in May 1938.[35]

text: Higher interest rates intensified the deflationary pressure on the dollar and reduced investment in U.S. banks. Commercial banks converted Federal Reserve Notes to gold in 1931, reducing its gold reserves and forcing a corresponding reduction in the amount of currency in circulation. This speculative attack created a panic in the U.S. banking system. Fearing imminent devaluation many depositors withdrew funds from U.S. banks.[36] As bank runs grew, a reverse multiplier effect caused a contraction in the money supply.[37] Additionally the New York Fed had loaned over $150 million in gold (over 240 tons) to European Central Banks. This transfer contracted the US money supply. The foreign loans became questionable once Britain, Germany, Austria and other European countries went off the gold standard in 1931 and weakened confidence in the dollar.[38]

text: The forced contraction of the money supply resulted in deflation. Even as nominal interest rates dropped, inflation-adjusted real interest rates remained high, rewarding those who held onto money instead of spending it, further slowing the economy.[39] Recovery in the United States was slower than in Britain, in part due to Congressional reluctance to abandon the gold standard and float the U.S. currency as Britain had done.[40]

text: In the early 1930s, the Federal Reserve defended the dollar by raising interest rates, trying to increase the demand for dollars. This helped attract international investors who bought foreign assets with gold.[36]

text: Congress passed the Gold Reserve Act on 30 January 1934; the measure nationalized all gold by ordering Federal Reserve banks to turn over their supply to the U.S. Treasury. In return the banks received gold certificates to be used as reserves against deposits and Federal Reserve notes. The act also authorized the president to devalue the gold dollar. Under this authority the president, on 31 January 1934, changed the value of the dollar from $20.67 to the troy ounce to $35 to the troy ounce, a devaluation of over 40%.

text: Other factors in the prolongation of the Great Depression include trade wars and the reduction in international trade caused by barriers such as Smoot–Hawley Tariff in the US and the Imperial Preference policies of Great Britain,[41] the failure of central banks to act responsibly,[42] government policies designed to prevent wages from falling, such as the Davis–Bacon Act of 1931, during the deflationary period resulting in production costs dropping slower than sales prices, thereby injuring business profits[43] and increases in taxes to reduce budget deficits and to support new programs such as Social Security. The US top marginal income tax rate went from 25% to 63% in 1932 and to 79% in 1936,[44] while the bottom rate increased over tenfold, from .375% in 1929 to 4% in 1932.[45] The concurrent massive drought resulted in the US Dust Bowl.

text: The Austrian School asserted that the Great Depression was the result of a credit bust.[46] Alan Greenspan wrote that the bank failures of the 1930s were sparked by Great Britain dropping the gold standard in 1931. This act "tore asunder" any remaining confidence in the banking system.[47] Financial historian Niall Ferguson wrote that what made the Great Depression truly 'great' was the European banking crisis of 1931.[48] According to Fed Chairman Marriner Eccles, the root cause was the concentration of wealth resulting in a stagnating or decreasing standard of living for the poor and middle class. These classes went into debt, producing the credit explosion of the 1920s. Eventually the debt load grew too heavy, resulting in the massive defaults and financial panics of the 1930s.[49]

text: World War II

text: Under the Bretton Woods international monetary agreement of 1944, the gold standard was kept without domestic convertibility. The role of gold was severely constrained, as other countries’ currencies were fixed in terms of the dollar. Many countries kept reserves in gold and settled accounts in gold. Still they preferred to settle balances with other currencies, with the American dollar becoming the favorite. The International Monetary Fund was established to help with the exchange process and assist nations in maintaining fixed rates. Within Bretton Woods adjustment was cushioned through credits that helped countries avoid deflation. Under the old standard, a country with an overvalued currency would lose gold and experience deflation until the currency was again valued correctly. Most countries defined their currencies in terms of dollars, but some countries imposed trading restrictions to protect reserves and exchange rates. Therefore, most countries' currencies were still basically inconvertible. In the late 1950s, the exchange restrictions were dropped and gold became an important element in international financial settlements.[14]

text: Bretton Woods

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text: After the Second World War, a system similar to a gold standard and sometimes described as a "gold exchange standard" was established by the Bretton Woods Agreements. Under this system, many countries fixed their exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar and central banks could exchange dollar holdings into gold at the official exchange rate of $35 per ounce; this option was not available to firms or individuals. All currencies pegged to the dollar thereby had a fixed value in terms of gold.[5]

text: Starting in the 1959–1969 administration of President Charles de Gaulle and continuing until 1970, France reduced its dollar reserves, exchanging them for gold at the official exchange rate, reducing US economic influence. This, along with the fiscal strain of federal expenditures for the Vietnam War and persistent balance of payments deficits, led U.S. President Richard Nixon to end international convertibility of the U.S. dollar to gold on August 15, 1971 (the "Nixon Shock").

text: This was meant to be a temporary measure, with the gold price of the dollar and the official rate of exchanges remaining constant. Revaluing currencies was the main purpose of this plan. No official revaluation or redemption occurred. The dollar subsequently floated. In December 1971, the "Smithsonian Agreement" was reached. In this agreement, the dollar was devalued from $35 per troy ounce of gold to $38. Other countries' currencies appreciated. However, gold convertibility did not resume. In October 1973, the price was raised to $42.22. Once again, the devaluation was insufficient. Within two weeks of the second devaluation the dollar was left to float. The $42.22 par value was made official in September 1973, long after it had been abandoned in practice. In October 1976, the government officially changed the definition of the dollar; references to gold were removed from statutes. From this point, the international monetary system was made of pure fiat money.

text: Production of gold

text: An estimated total of 174,100 tonnes of gold have been mined in human history, according to GFMS as of 2012. This is roughly equivalent to 5.6 billion troy ounces or, in terms of volume, about 9,261 cubic metres (327,000 cu ft), or a cube 21 metres (69 ft) on a side. There are varying estimates of the total volume of gold mined. One reason for the variance is that gold has been mined for thousands of years. Another reason is that some nations are not particularly open about how much gold is being mined. In addition, it is difficult to account for the gold output in illegal mining activities.[50]

text: World production for 2011 was circa 2,700 tonnes. Since the 1950s, annual gold output growth has approximately kept pace with world population growth (i.e. a doubling in this period)[51] although it has lagged behind world economic growth (approximately 8-fold increase since the 1950s[52], and 4x since 1980[53]).

text: Theory

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text: Commodity money is inconvenient to store and transport in large amounts. Furthermore, it does not allow a government to manipulate the flow of commerce with the same ease that a fiat currency does. As such, commodity money gave way to representative money and gold and other specie were retained as its backing.

text: Gold was a preferred form of money due to its rarity, durability, divisibility, fungibility and ease of identification,[54] often in conjunction with silver. Silver was typically the main circulating medium, with gold as the monetary reserve. Commodity money was anonymous, as identifying marks can be removed. Commodity money retains its value despite what may happen to the monetary authority. After the fall of South Vietnam, many refugees carried their wealth to the West in gold after the national currency became worthless.[citation needed]

text: Under commodity standards currency itself has no intrinsic value, but is accepted by traders because it can be redeemed any time for the equivalent specie. A US silver certificate, for example, could be redeemed for an actual piece of silver.

text: Representative money and the gold standard protect citizens from hyperinflation and other abuses of monetary policy, as were seen in some countries during the Great Depression. Commodity money conversely led to deflation and bank runs.

text: Countries that left the gold standard earlier than other countries recovered from the Great Depression sooner. For example, Great Britain and the Scandinavian countries, which left the gold standard in 1931, recovered much earlier than France and Belgium, which remained on gold much longer. Countries such as China, which had a silver standard, almost entirely avoided the depression (due to the fact it was then barely integrated into the global economy). The connection between leaving the gold standard and the severity and duration of the depression was consistent for dozens of countries, including developing countries. This may explain why the experience and length of the depression differed between national economies.[55]

text: Variations

text: A full or 100%-reserve gold standard exists when the monetary authority holds sufficient gold to convert all the circulating representative money into gold at the promised exchange rate. It is sometimes referred to as the gold specie standard to more easily distinguish it. Opponents of a full standard consider it difficult to implement, saying that the quantity of gold in the world is too small to sustain worldwide economic activity at or near current gold prices; implementation would entail a many-fold increase in the price of gold.[citation needed] Gold standard proponents have said, "Once a money is established, any stock of money becomes compatible with any amount of employment and real income."[56] While prices would necessarily adjust to the supply of gold, the process may involve considerable economic disruption, as was experienced during earlier attempts to maintain gold standards.[57]

text: In an international gold-standard system (which is necessarily based on an internal gold standard in the countries concerned),[58] gold or a currency that is convertible into gold at a fixed price is used to make international payments. Under such a system, when exchange rates rise above or fall below the fixed mint rate by more than the cost of shipping gold, inflows or outflows occur until rates return to the official level. International gold standards often limit which entities have the right to redeem currency for gold.

text: Advantages

text:
Long-term price stability has been described as one of the virtues of the gold standard.[59] The gold standard makes it difficult for governments to inflate prices through expanding the money supply. Under the gold standard, significant inflation is rare, and hyperinflation is essentially impossible because the money supply can only grow at the rate that the gold supply increases. High inflation under a gold standard is seen only when warfare destroys a large part of an economy, reducing the production of goods, or when a major new gold source becomes available.[60] In the U.S., inflation occurred during the Civil War, which destroyed the economy of the South.[61] Inflation also followed the California Gold Rush that made large amounts of gold available for minting.[62] Historical data shows that the magnitude of short run swings in prices were far higher under the gold standard.[63][59]
The gold standard provides fixed international exchange rates between participating countries and thus reduces uncertainty in international trade. Historically, imbalances between price levels were offset by a balance-of-payment adjustment mechanism called the "price–specie flow mechanism".[60] Gold used to pay for imports reduces the money supply of importing nations, causing deflation, which makes them more competitive, while the importation of gold by net exporters serves to increase their money supply, causing inflation, making them less competitive.[64]
A gold standard does not allow some types of financial repression.[65] Financial repression acts as a mechanism to transfer wealth from creditors to debtors, particularly the governments that practice it. Financial repression is most successful in reducing debt when accompanied by inflation and can be considered a form of taxation.[66][67] In 1966 Alan Greenspan wrote "Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights. If one grasps this, one has no difficulty in understanding the statists' antagonism toward the gold standard."[68]

text: Disadvantages

text:
The unequal distribution of gold deposits makes the gold standard more advantageous for those countries that produce gold.[69] In 2010 the largest producers of gold, in order, were China, Australia, U.S., South Africa and Russia.[70] The country with the largest unmined gold deposits is Australia.[71]
Some economists believe that the gold standard acts as a limit on economic growth. "As an economy's productive capacity grows, then so should its money supply. Because a gold standard requires that money be backed in the metal, then the scarcity of the metal constrains the ability of the economy to produce more capital and grow."[72]
Mainstream economists believe that economic recessions can be largely mitigated by increasing the money supply during economic downturns.[73] A gold standard means that the money supply would be determined by the gold supply and hence monetary policy could no longer be used to stabilize the economy.[74] The gold standard is often blamed for prolonging the Great Depression, as under the gold standard, central banks could not expand credit at a fast enough rate to offset deflationary forces.[75]
Although the gold standard brings long-run price stability, it is historically associated with high short-run price volatility.[59][76] It has been argued by Schwartz, among others, that instability in short-term price levels can lead to financial instability as lenders and borrowers become uncertain about the value of debt.[76]
Deflation punishes debtors.[77][78] Real debt burdens therefore rise, causing borrowers to cut spending to service their debts or to default. Lenders become wealthier, but may choose to save some of the additional wealth, reducing GDP.[79]
The money supply would essentially be determined by the rate of gold production. When gold stocks increase more rapidly than the economy, there is inflation and the reverse is also true.[59][80] The consensus view is that the gold standard contributed to the severity and length of the Great Depression.[81][82]
Hamilton contended that the gold standard is susceptible to speculative attacks when a government's financial position appears weak. Conversely, this threat discourages governments from engaging in risky policy (see moral hazard). For example, the U.S. was forced to contract the money supply and raise interest rates in September 1931 to defend the dollar after speculators forced the UK off the gold standard.[82][83][84][85]
Devaluing a currency under a gold standard would generally produce sharper changes than the smooth declines seen in fiat currencies, depending on the method of devaluation.[86]
Most economists favor a low, positive rate of inflation of around 2%. This reflects fear of deflationary shocks and the belief that active monetary policy can dampen fluctuations in output and unemployment. Inflation gives them room to tighten policy without inducing deflation.[87]
A gold standard provides practical constraints against the measures that central banks might otherwise use to respond to economic crises.[88] Creation of new money reduces interest rates and thereby increases demand for new lower cost debt, raising the demand for money.[89]

text: Gold standard and Bitcoin

text: According to research produced by the Bank of Canada, the emerging Bitcoin economy has many similarities with the economy based on gold standard, in particular:[90][91]

text:
limited and predictable supply of the anchor of the monetary system
no central bank or monetary authority controls the supply
low or non-existent inflation
virtually no arbitrage costs for international transactions
Governments have less control over their domestic economies
Governments lose seigniorage revenues that they obtain from the ability to almost costlessly create money

text: Edward Hadas and Michael Hiltzik noted that monetary systems based on Bitcoin and gold have some similar disadvantages:

text:
independence from government[92][93]
price declines[92]
less spending during crisis times[92]

text: George Gilder, a proponent of gold standard, proposed breaking "the government monopoly on money" by using a combination of Bitcoin for the internet and treating gold in tax terms as currency.[94][95]

text: Advocates

text: A return to the gold standard was considered by the US Gold Commission back in 1982, but found only minority support.[96] In 2001 Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad proposed a new currency that would be used initially for international trade among Muslim nations, using the Islamic gold dinar, defined as 4.25 grams of pure (24-carat) gold. Mahathir claimed it would be a stable unit of account and a political symbol of unity between Islamic nations. This would purportedly reduce dependence on the US dollar and establish a non-debt-backed currency in accord with Sharia law that prohibited the charging of interest.[97] As of 2013[update] the global monetary system continued to rely on the US dollar as the main reserve currency.[98]

text: Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan acknowledged he was one of "a small minority" within the central bank that had some positive view on the gold standard.[99] In a 1966 essay he contributed to a book by Ayn Rand, titled "Gold and Economic Freedom", Greenspan argued the case for returning to a 'pure' gold standard; in that essay he described supporters of fiat currencies as "welfare statists" intending to use monetary policy to finance deficit spending.[100] More recently he claimed that by focusing on targeting inflation "central bankers have behaved as though we were on the gold standard", rendering a return to the standard unnecessary.[101]

text: Similarly, economists like Robert Barro argued that whilst some form of "monetary constitution" is essential for stable, depoliticized monetary policy, the form this constitution takes—for example, a gold standard, some other commodity-based standard, or a fiat currency with fixed rules for determining the quantity of money—is considerably less important.[102]

text: The gold standard is supported by many followers of the Austrian School of Economics, free-market libertarians and some supply-siders.[103]

text: US politics

text: In the United States, strict constitutionalists object to the government issuing fiat currency through central banks. Some gold-standard advocates also call for a mandated end to fractional-reserve banking. Many similar alternatives have been suggested, including energy-based currencies, collections of currencies or commodities, with gold as one component.

text: Former congressman Ron Paul is a long-term, high-profile advocate of a gold standard, but has also expressed support for using a standard based on a basket of commodities that better reflects the state of the economy.[104]

text: In 2011 the Utah legislature passed a bill to accept federally issued gold and silver coins as legal tender to pay taxes.[105] As federally issued currency, the coins were already legal tender for taxes, although the market price of their metal content currently exceeds their monetary value. Similar legislation is under consideration in other US states.[106] The bill was initiated by newly elected Republican Party legislators associated with the Tea Party movement and was driven by anxiety over the policies of President Barack Obama.[107]

text: In 2013, the Arizona Legislature passed SB 1439, which would have made gold and silver coin a legal tender in payment of debt, but the bill was vetoed by the Governor.[108]

text: In 2015, some candidates for the 2016 presidential election advocated for a gold standard, based on concern that the Federal Reserve’s attempts to increase economic growth may create inflation. Economic historians did not agree with candidate's assertions that the gold standard would benefit the US economy.[109]

text: Critics

text: In 2012 a poll of 40 U.S. economists in the IGM Economic Experts Panel found that none of them agreed with a claim that a return to the gold standard would result in "price-stability and employment outcomes [that] would be better for the average American." The panel of polled economists included past Nobel Prize winners, former economic advisers to both Republican and Democratic presidents, and senior faculty from Harvard, Chicago, Stanford, MIT, and other well-known research universities. (The specific question posed to the economists was: "If the US replaced its discretionary monetary policy regime with a gold standard, defining a 'dollar' as a specific number of ounces of gold, the price-stability and employment outcomes would be better for the average American.") [3]

text: The economist Allan H. Meltzer of Carnegie Mellon University presented arguments against Ron Paul's advocacy of the gold standard since the 1970s. He sometimes summarizes his opposition by stating simply, "[W]e don’t have the gold standard. It’s not because we don’t know about the gold standard, it’s because we do."[110]


document_title: Jenna Boyd

question_text: who played bailey in the sisterhood of the traveling pants

root

text: Jenna Boyd

text: Life and career[edit]

text: Jenna Boyd was born in Bedford, Texas and moved with her parents and younger brother Cayden (also an actor) to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career. After a few small roles on television and film, Boyd's big break came when she was cast in The Missing, alongside Cate Blanchett and Evan Rachel Wood. Boyd's performance was praised in critical reviews of this film, although the film itself was not particularly well received. Previously she had been in Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star playing the daughter of a family hired by the title character (David Spade) to help him recapture his childhood. In 2005 Boyd played the Leukemia-suffering Bailey Graffman in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Her recent roles include the Lifetime miniseries The Gathering in which she played the daughter of a doctor (Peter Gallagher) searching for his wife and in the Ghost Whisperer episode "Children of Ghosts" she played a troubled teenager living in a foster home. In 2017, she played Paige Hardaway, the "practice girlfriend" of the autistic main character, Sam Gardener, in the Netflix Original Series Atypical.

tag: p

text: Filmography[edit]

text:
Film

Year
Title
Role
Notes

2003
Hunted, TheThe Hunted
Loretta Kravitz

2003
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
Sally Finley

2003
Missing, TheThe Missing
Dot Gilkeson

2005
In an Instant
The Girl

2005
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, TheThe Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Bailey

2012
Complicity
Rachel

2012
Last Ounce of Courage
Maddie Rogers

2014
Runaway
Abby

tag: table

text:
Television

Year
Title
Role
Notes

2001
Geena Davis Show, TheThe Geena Davis Show
Kid
Episode: "Car Wash"

2001
Titus
5-Year-Old Shannon
Episode: "Shannon's Song"

2001
Just Shoot Me!
Hannah Gallo
Episode: "Christmas? Christmas!"

2002
Special Unit 2
(voice)
Episode: "The Piper"

2002
Six Feet Under
7-Year-Old Girl
Episode: "The Secret"

2002
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Sasha Rittle
Episode: "Cross Jurisdictions"

2002
Mary Christmas
Felice Wallace
TV movie

2003
Carnivàle
Maddy Crane
Episode: "Milfay"

2007
Ghost Whisperer
Julie Parker
Episode: "Children of Ghosts"

2007
Gathering, TheThe Gathering
Elizabeth 'Zee' Foster
TV miniseries

2008
Criminal Minds
Jessica Evanson
Episode: "Minimal Loss"

2017
Atypical
Paige Hardaway
Recurring role

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text:
Award
Year
Category
Result
Role

Young Artist Award
2003
Best Performance in a TV Movie, Mini-Series or Special - Supporting Young Actress
Nominated
Felice Wallace in Mary Christmas

2004
Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actress
Nominated
Sally Finney in Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star

Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress
Won
Dot Gilkeson in The Missing

Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role - Female
Nominated

Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards
Youth in Film
Nominated

Saturn Award
Best Performance by a Younger Actor
Nominated

Teen Choice Award
2005
Choice Movie Breakout Performance - Female
Nominated
Bailey Graffman in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Young Artist Award
2006
Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actress
Nominated

2008
Best Performance in a TV Series - Guest Starring Young Actress
Nominated
Julie Parker in Ghost Whisperer


document_title: List of most-followed Instagram accounts

question_text: who has the most followers on the instagram

text: Top accounts

text: All-time

text: The following table lists the top 25 most followed accounts on Instagram, with each total rounded to the nearest million followers, as well as the profession of each user and country of origin.[1]

text:
Rank
Chg
Account name
Owner
Followers
(millions)
Profession
Country

1.

@instagram
Instagram
234
Social media platform
 USA

2.

@selenagomez
Selena Gomez
136
Musician and actress
 USA

3.

@cristiano
Cristiano Ronaldo
124
Footballer
 POR

4.

@arianagrande
Ariana Grande
118
Musician and actress
 USA

5.

@beyonce
Beyoncé
114
Musician and actress
 USA

6.

@kimkardashian
Kim Kardashian
110
Reality TV personality
 USA

7.

@kyliejenner
Kylie Jenner
107
Reality TV personality
 USA

8.

@taylorswift
Taylor Swift
107
Musician and actress
 USA

9.

@therock
Dwayne Johnson
103
Actor and professional wrestler
 USA

10.

@justinbieber
Justin Bieber
98
Musician
 CAN

11.

@neymarjr
Neymar
92
Footballer
 BRA

12.

@leomessi
Lionel Messi
90
Footballer
 ARG

13.

@kendalljenner
Kendall Jenner
89
Model
 USA

14.

@natgeo
National Geographic
87
Magazine
 USA

15.

@nickiminaj
Nicki Minaj
86
Musician
 TRI

16.

@nike
Nike
77
Sportswear multinational corporation
 USA

17.

@mileycyrus
Miley Cyrus
75
Musician and actress
 USA

18.

@khloekardashian
Khloé Kardashian
74
Reality TV personality
 USA

19.

@jlo
Jennifer Lopez
74
Musician and actress
 USA

20.

@katyperry
Katy Perry
69
Musician
 USA

21.

@ddlovato
Demi Lovato
67
Musician and actress
 USA

22.

@kourtneykardash
Kourtney Kardashian
62
Reality TV personality
 USA

23.

@badgalriri
Rihanna
61
Musician
 BAR

24.

@victoriassecret
Victoria's Secret
59
Lingerie retailer
 USA

25.

@kevinhart4real
Kevin Hart
58
Comedian
 USA

As of April 17, 2018[update]

text: By country

text: The following table lists the top 14 most followed accounts on Instagram by country of origin, with each total rounded to the nearest million followers, as well as the profession of each user.[1]

text:
Rank
Chg
Country
Account name
Owner
Followers
(millions)
Profession

1.

 United States
@instagram
Instagram
234
Social media platform

2.

 Portugal
@cristiano
Cristiano Ronaldo
123
Footballer

3.

 Canada
@justinbieber
Justin Bieber
98
Musician

4.

 Brazil
@neymarjr
Neymar
91
Footballer

5.

 Argentina
@leomessi
Lionel Messi
89
Footballer

6.

 Trinidad and Tobago
@nickiminaj
Nicki Minaj
86
Musician

7.

 Barbados
@badgalriri
Rihanna
61
Musician

8.

 Spain
@realmadrid
Real Madrid C.F.
57
Football club

9.

 Colombia
@shakira
Shakira
46
Musician

10.

 United Kingdom
@emmawatson
Emma Watson
45
Actress

11.

 Hong Kong
@9gag
9GAG
44
Social media platform

12.

 Sweden
@iamzlatanibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimović
31
Footballer

13.

 France
@chanelofficial[3]
Chanel
27
Clothing retailer

14.

 Indonesia
@raffinagita1717[4]
Raffi Ahmad & Nagita Slavina
22
Presenter and musician

As of March 31, 2018[update]


document_title: Knowledge base

question_text: what type of data is provided in a knowledge base

text: Knowledge base

text: This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: A knowledge base (KB) is a technology used to store complex structured and unstructured information used by a computer system. The initial use of the term was in connection with expert systems which were the first knowledge-based systems.

text: The original use of the term knowledge-base was to describe one of the two sub-systems of a knowledge-based system. A knowledge-based system consists of a knowledge-base that represents facts about the world and an inference engine that can reason about those facts and use rules and other forms of logic to deduce new facts or highlight inconsistencies.[1]

text: The term "knowledge-base" was coined to distinguish this form of knowledge store from the more common and widely used term database. At the time (the 1970s) virtually all large Management Information Systems stored their data in some type of hierarchical or relational database. At this point in the history of Information Technology the distinction between a database and a knowledge base was clear and unambiguous. A database had these properties:

text:
Flat data. Data was usually represented in a tabular format with strings or numbers in each field.
Multiple users. A conventional database needed to support more than one user or system logged into the same data at the same time.
Transactions. An essential requirement for a database was to maintain integrity and consistency among data accessed by concurrent users. These are the so-called ACID properties: Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability.
Large, long-lived data. A corporate database needed to support not just thousands but hundreds of thousands or more rows of data. Such a database usually needed to persist past the specific uses of any individual program; it needed to store data for years and decades rather than for the life of a program.

tag: ul

text: The first knowledge-based systems had data needs that were the opposite of these database requirements. An expert system requires structured data. Not just tables with numbers and strings, but pointers to other objects that in turn have additional pointers. The ideal representation for a knowledge base is an object model (often called an ontology in artificial intelligence literature) with classes, subclasses and instances.

text: Early expert systems also had little need for multiple users or the complexity that comes with requiring transactional properties on data. The data for the early expert systems was used to arrive at a specific answer, such as a medical diagnosis, the design of a molecule, or a response to an emergency.[1] Once the solution to the problem was known there was not a critical demand to store large amounts of data back to a permanent memory store. A more precise statement would be that given the technologies available researchers compromised and did without these capabilities because they realized they were beyond what could be expected and they could develop useful solutions to non-trivial problems without them. Even from the beginning the more astute researchers realized the potential benefits of being able to store, analyze, and reuse knowledge. For example, see the discussion of Corporate Memory in the earliest work of the Knowledge-Based Software Assistant program by Cordell Green et al.[2]

text: The volume requirements were also different for a knowledge-base compared to a conventional database. The knowledge-base needed to know facts about the world. For example, to represent the statement that "All humans are mortal". A database typically could not represent this general knowledge but instead would need to store information about thousands of tables that represented information about specific humans. Representing that all humans are mortal and being able to reason about any given human that they are mortal is the work of a knowledge-base. Representing that George, Mary, Sam, Jenna, Mike,... and hundreds of thousands of other customers are all humans with specific ages, sex, address, etc. is the work for a database.[3][4]

text: As expert systems moved from being prototypes to systems deployed in corporate environments the requirements for their data storage rapidly started to overlap with the standard database requirements for multiple, distributed users with support for transactions. Initially, the demand could be seen in two different but competitive markets. From the AI and Object-Oriented communities object-oriented databases such as Versant emerged. These were systems designed from the ground up to have support for object-oriented capabilities but also to support standard database services as well. On the other hand, the large database vendors such as Oracle added capabilities to their products that provided support for knowledge-base requirements such as class-subclass relations and rules.

text: The next evolution for the term knowledge-base was the Internet. With the rise of the Internet, documents, hypertext, and multimedia support were now critical for any corporate database. It was no longer enough to support large tables of data or relatively small objects that lived primarily in computer memory. Support for corporate web sites required persistence and transactions for documents. This created a whole new discipline known as Web Content Management. The other driver for document support was the rise of knowledge management vendors such as Lotus Notes. Knowledge Management actually predated the Internet but with the Internet there was great synergy between the two areas. Knowledge management products adopted the term "knowledge-base" to describe their repositories but the meaning had a subtle difference. In the case of previous knowledge-based systems the knowledge was primarily for the use of an automated system, to reason about and draw conclusions about the world. With knowledge management products the knowledge was primarily meant for humans, for example to serve as a repository of manuals, procedures, policies, best practices, reusable designs and code, etc. In both cases the distinctions between the uses and kinds of systems were ill-defined. As the technology scaled up it was rare to find a system that could really be cleanly classified as knowledge-based in the sense of an expert system that performed automated reasoning and knowledge-based in the sense of knowledge management that provided knowledge in the form of documents and media that could be leveraged by us humans.[5]


document_title: Open University

question_text: what is an open university grade 3 pass

question_tokens: what is an open university grade 3 pass

text: Open University

text: History[edit]

text: The Open University was founded by the Labour government under Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson was a strong advocate, using the vision of Michael Young. Planning commenced in 1965 under Minister of State for Education Jennie Lee, who established a model for the OU as one of widening access to the highest standards of scholarship in higher education, and set up a planning committee consisting of university vice-chancellors, educationalists and television broadcasters, chaired by Sir Peter Venables. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Assistant Director of Engineering at the time James Redmond, had obtained most of his qualifications at night school, and his natural enthusiasm for the project did much to overcome the technical difficulties of using television to broadcast teaching programmes.

text: Wilson envisioned The Open University as a major marker in the Labour Party's commitment to modernising British society. He believed that it would help build a more competitive economy while also promoting greater equality of opportunity and social mobility. The planned utilisation of television and radio to broadcast its courses was also supposed to link The Open University to the technological revolution underway, which Wilson saw as a major ally of his modernization schemes. However, from the start Lee encountered widespread scepticism and even opposition from within and without the Labour Party, including senior officials in the DES; her departmental head Anthony Crosland; the Treasury; Ministerial colleagues, such as Richard Crossman; and commercial broadcasters. The Open University was realized due to Lee's unflagging determination and tenacity in 1965–67, the steadfast support from Wilson, and the fact that the anticipated costs, as reported to Lee and Wilson by Arnold Goodman, seemed very modest. By the time the actual, much higher costs became apparent, it was too late to scrap the fledgling open university.[19]

text: Organisation and administration[edit]

text: Staff[edit]

text: The majority of staff are part-time Associate Lecturers and, as of the 2009–10 academic year, almost 8,000 work for the OU.[20] There are also 1,286 (mostly full-time) salaried academic employees (central academics based at Walton Hall and Staff Tutors based in a variety of regional locations) who are research active and responsible for the production and presentation of teaching materials, 1,931 who are academic-related and 1,902 support staff (including secretaries and technicians).[21] Salaries are the OU's main cost - over £275 million for the 2009–2010 academic year.[21] In 2010 the OU became one of the Sunday Times′ Best Places to Work in the Public Sector.

text: Credit union[edit]

text: Open University Employees Credit Union Limited is a savings and loans co-operative established by the University for staff in 1994. A member of the Association of British Credit Unions Limited,[22] it is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the PRA. Ultimately, like the banks and building societies, members’ savings are protected against business failure by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.[23]

text: Academic divisions[edit]

text: Faculties[edit]

text: In 2016 the university reorganised its departments and now operates with the Faculties of Arts & Social Sciences; The Open University Business School (OUBS); The Open University Law School; Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM); Wellbeing, Education & Language Studies; Institute of Education Technology (IET); Knowledge Media Institute (KMI).

text: Business school[edit]

text: In 1982 the OU announced the establishment of a business school supported by the Foundation for Management Education and the British Institute of Management. In 1983 the Open University Business School was founded with 1,600 students enrolled onto the first two courses – The Effective Manager and Personnel Selection and Interviewing.[citation needed]

text: The Open University Business school is accredited by the international accrediting bodies AACSB, AMBA, amd EQUIS. It is the only triple-accredited business school that specialises in flexible learning, and nearly 24,000 students have graduated with MBAs in over 100 countries.[citation needed]

text: The OU Business School's MBA programme was ranked 13th in the Financial Times’s global rankings of online and distance learning MBA providers which featured five European schools, four of which were in the UK.[24]

text: Academic profile[edit]

text: Teaching methods[edit]

text: The OU uses a variety of methods for teaching, including written and audio materials, the Internet, disc-based software and television programmes on DVD. Course-based television broadcasts by the BBC, which started on 3 January 1971, ceased on 15 December 2006.[25] Materials comprise originally authored work by in-house and external academic contributors, and from third-party materials licensed for use by OU students. For most modules, students are supported by tutors ("Associate Lecturers") who provide feedback on their work and are generally available to them at face-to-face tutorials, by telephone, and/or on the Internet. A number of short courses worth ten credits are now available that do not have an assigned tutor but offer an online conferencing service (Internet Forum) where help and advice is offered through conferencing "Moderators".

text: Some modules have mandatory day schools. These are day-long sessions which a student must attend in order to pass the module. One example of such a module is the K301 – Advanced Certificate in Health Promotion – which has two mandatory day schools/workshops, focusing on communication skills, counselling and practical issues, related to health promotion. Nevertheless, it is possible to be excused on the basis of ill-health (or other extenuating circumstances) and many courses have no mandatory face-to-face component.

text: Similarly, many modules have traditionally offered week-long summer schools offering an opportunity for students to remove themselves from the general distractions of their life and focus on their study for a short time.

text: Over the past ten years the university has adopted a policy of separating residential modules from distance-full-time taught modules. Exemption from attendance at residential schools, always as an Alternative Learning Experience (ALE), is sometimes available for disabled students and others who find it impossible to attend in person (See "Qualifications-Undergraduate" section.)

text: For many years the OU produced television and radio programmes aimed at bringing learning to a wider audience. In its early years most of these were in the form of documentaries or filmed lectures. Latterly, most OU-associated programming was mainstream and broadcast in peak hours, including series such as Rough Science and "Battle of the Geeks", while older-style programming was carried in the BBC Learning Zone. In 2004 the OU announced it was to stop its late-night programmes on BBC2, and the last programme was broadcast at 5.30am on 16 December 2006. The OU now plans to focus on semi-academic television programmes, such as many now broadcast on BBC Four.

text: The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education review published in December 2015 found five areas of good practice and made three recommendations for improvement.[26] The English national survey of student satisfaction has twice put the Open University in first place.

text: In October 2006 the OU joined the Open educational resources movement with the launch of OpenLearn. A growing selection of current and past distance learning course materials will be released for free access, including downloadable versions for educators to modify (under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA licence), plus free collaborative learning-support tools.

text: The OU is researching the use of virtual worlds in teaching and learning, and has two main islands in Second Life. These islands are called Open University island[27] and OUtopia village.[28] They are separated by a third region "OU Ocean." In May 2009 these regions formed the basis of a case study[29] by Linden Lab, the company which owns Second Life.

text: As of mid-2010, the university led the list of contributing universities in the number of downloads of its material from the educational resources site iTunes U, with downloads of over 20 million.[30] Open University continues to adopt Moodle as the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) with their own team deploying custom plugins.[31][32]

text: Since 2013, the OU has set up a MOOC platform called FutureLearn which is now the UK's largest provider of free online courses.

text: Assessment methods[edit]

text: Open University modules are often assessed using an equal weighting of examinations and coursework. The coursework component normally takes the form of between two and seven tutor marked assignments (TMAs) and, occasionally, may also include up to six multiple-choice or "missing word" 10-question interactive computer marked assignments (iCMAs). The examinable component is usually an invigilated three-hour paper regardless of the size of the module (although on some modules it can be up to three three-hour papers[33]), but an increasing number of modules instead have an EMA (End of Module Assessment) which is similar to a TMA, in that it is completed at home, but is regarded as an exam for grading purposes.

text: Modules results are sometimes issued on a graded basis, consisting of pass grades 1 (threshold 85%, a distinction), 2 (70–84%), 3 (55–69%) & 4 (40–54%), and fail (below 40%). This grade is calculated as the lower of the overall continuous assessment score (OCAS) and overall examination score (OES).

text: These grades can be weighted[34] according to their level, and combined to calculate the classification of a degree. An undergraduate degree will weight level 3 modules twice as much as level 2, and in postgraduate programmes all M level modules are equally weighted.

text: Qualifications[edit]

text: Undergraduate[edit]

text: Open University modules have associated with them a number of Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS) credits – usually 30 or 60 – depending on the quantity of the material in the module and a level (1, 2, 3, or 4) corresponding to the complexity, with 120 credits roughly equating to the year of study for a full-time student.

text: The OU offers a large number of undergraduate qualifications, including certificates, diplomas, and bachelor's degrees, based on both level and quantity of study. An OU undergraduate degree requires 300 (or 360 for honours) CATS credits.

text: Students are generally advised not to undertake more than 60 credits per year, meaning that an undergraduate degree will take typically six years to complete. With the exception of some degrees in fast moving areas (such as computing) there is generally no limit on the time which a student may take. Students need special permission to take more than 120 credits (equivalent to full-time study) at any time;[35] such permission is not usually granted.[citation needed]

text: Originally the BA was the only undergraduate degree, and it was unnamed. The modern OU grants degrees of Bachelor of Arts (BA), Science (BSc), Laws (LLB) and Engineering (BEng); the BA and BSc may be named (following a specified syllabus) or unnamed (constructed of courses chosen by the student) degrees.

text: Many OU faculties have now introduced short modules worth ten credits. Most of these modules are taught online, and start at regular intervals throughout the year. They typically provide an introduction to a broader subject over a period of ten weeks, these are generally timed during vacations at conventional universities in order to take advantage of their facilities. Some science modules, which require only home study, are complemented by residential courses, in order to allow the student to gain practical laboratory experience in that field; typically, an award of degree or diploma will require completion of both.

text: Different modules are run at different times of the year, but, typically, a 30 or 60 credit module will run either from October to June or from February to October. Assessment is by both continual assessment (with, normally, between four and eight assignments during the year) and, for most, a final examination or, on some modules, a major assignment.

text: Degrees[edit]

text: As well as degrees in named subject, the Open University also grants "Open" Bachelor's degrees where the syllabus is designed by the students by combining any number of Open University modules up to 300 credits for an Open degree and 360 credits for an Open honours degree – the main restriction on which courses can be included is that there must be at least 60 at level 3 for the "ordinary degree" and 120 at level 3 for honours and in both cases no more than 120 at level 1. The Open degree may be awarded as a Bachelor of Arts Open or a Bachelor of Science Open either with or without honours. Without honours, at least 150 credits at level 1 and above and 60 credits at level 2 and above are required in the field, either art or science, for the Open degree to carry that name. For a degree with honours, no more than 120 credits at level 1, 120 credits at level 2 and above and 120 credits at level 3 and above are required.

text: Other qualifications[edit]

text: The Open University grants undergraduate Certificates (abbreviated Cert) typically awarded after 60 completed credits at Level 1 or Level 3 (where each credit corresponds to roughly 10 hours of study, therefore 60 credits represent about 600 hours of effort), Diplomas (abbreviated Dip) after 120 credits – typically 60 credits at Level 2 and 60 credits at Level 3. Open University also awards Foundation degrees (abbreviated FD).

text: OU also offers a limited number of CertHE (120 CATS) and DipHE (240 CATS).

text: Postgraduate[edit]

text: The Open University provides the opportunity to study for a PhD on a part-time distance, or a full-time basis (on-site for science subjects, off-site with some supervisions on-site for arts) in a wide range of disciplines as well as an EdD for professionals in education. The university also offers a range of Master's levels modules such as the MBA and MPA, MSc, MA and MEd, and MRes, as well as the professional PGCE qualification and a number of postgraduate diplomas and certificates including innovative practice-based modules and postgraduate computing qualifications for professionals. Postgraduate certificates are awarded for 60 credits of study on specified modules; postgraduate diplomas are awarded for 120 credits of study on specified modules. The university offers "Advanced Diplomas" that involve 60 credits at undergraduate level and 60 credits at postgraduate level – these are designed as "bridges" between undergraduate and postgraduate study.

text: Degree ceremonies[edit]

text: Unlike most United Kingdom universities, degree ceremonies at the Open University are not graduation ceremonies as such (the occasion on which degrees are formally conferred on those who have achieved substantive degrees) - although honours degrees are normally conferred on these occasions. The Open University degree ceremony is officially known as a "Presentation of Graduates" at which those who have already had a degree bestowed on them are presented to the University Chancellor or his/her representative. Open University graduates normally graduate in absentia at a joint meeting of the university's council and senate ("congregation") which takes place at a meeting entirely separate from the degree ceremony.

text: The university's degree ceremonies occur throughout the year at various prestigious auditorium venues located throughout the United Kingdom, plus one each in Ireland and Continental Western Europe. In the year 2010 the OU held 26 degree ceremonies including Dublin, Manchester, Glasgow, Ely and Versailles. These ceremonies are presided over by a senior academic at Pro-Vice-Chancellor level or higher, and have the normal formal rituals associated with a graduation ceremony, including academic dress, procession and university mace.

text: In year 2000, the Open University was the first to host an online "virtual" graduation ceremony in the United Kingdom together with an audience at the OU's campus in Milton Keynes. Twenty-six students in eight countries, from the United States of America to Hong Kong, were presented for their master's degrees in the online graduation, including, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – Tim Berners-Lee one of the founders of the World Wide Web on whom was conferred an honorary doctorate.[36]

text: Research[edit]

text:
Rankings

ARWU[37]
(2017, national)
44–47

ARWU[38]
(2017, world)
601–700

THE[39]
(2018, national)
54

THE[40]
(2018, world)
401-500

text: Like other UK universities, the OU actively engages in research. The OU's Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute has become particularly well known to the public through its involvement in space missions. In October 2006, the Cassini-Huygens mission including 15 people from the OU received the 2006 "Laurels for Team Achievement Award" from the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA). Cassini-Huygens' successful completion of its seven-year, two billion-mile journey in January 2005 to Saturn ended with Huygens landing farther away from Earth than any previous probe or craft in the history of space exploration. The first instrument to touch Saturn's moon Titan was the Surface Science Package containing nine sensors to investigate the physical properties of Titan's surface. It was built by a team at the OU led by Professor John Zarnecki.

text: The OU now employs over 500 people engaged in research in over 25 areas, and there are over 1,200 research students. It spends approximately £20 million each year on research, around £6 million from the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the remainder from external funders.

text: The Open University also runs the Open Research Online (ORO) website.[41]

text: Students[edit]

text: In the 2015-16 academic year, there were 174,739 enrolled students.[42] The majority of students in the 2015-16 academic year were aged between 25 and 34 years old, with the median age of new undergraduates being 28.[42] Most students were from England (99,834), while 14,903 were from Scotland, 6,668 from Wales, 3,667 from Northern Ireland and 4,900 from elsewhere in the European Union, plus others elsewhere. 60% of undergraduates were female, with 53% of those taking postgraduate modules being male. 22,664 of students in 2015-16 had declared disabilities.[42]

text: Young undergraduates[edit]

text: While most of those studying are mature students, an increasingly large proportion of new undergraduates are aged between 17 and 25, to the extent that the OU now has more students in this age range than any other UK university.[43][44] The reduction in financial support for those attending traditional universities, coupled with the use of technologies such as iTunes and YouTube that appeal to this demographic, is believed to be behind this growth.[45]

text: By 2011, 32,000 undergraduates were under 25 years old,[43] representing around 25% of new students.[46] In 2010, 29,000 undergraduates were in this age range.[47] In the 2003–2004 academic year around 20% of new undergraduates were under 25,[48] up from 12.5% in 1996–1997[48] (the year before top-up fees were announced). In 2010 approximately 55% of those under 25 were also in full-time employment.[47]

text: The OU works with some schools to introduce A-Level students to OU study and in 2009–10 3% of undergraduates were under 18 years old.

text: The OU's youngest graduate so far is a 15-year-old boy from Wales who gained a BSc First Class Honours in 2014.[49]

text: Courses[edit]

text: Unlike other universities, where students register for a programme, OU students register separately for individual modules (which may be 10, 15, 20, 30 or 60 CATS credits, equivalent to 5, 7.5, 10, 15 or 30 ECTS credits). These modules may then be linked into degree programmes.

text: During the 2009–10 academic year social studies was the most popular study area (with 16,381 full-time equivalent students), followed by biological and physical sciences (12,357) and historical and philosophical studies (8,686); student numbers even on smaller undergraduate programmes, such as creative arts and design[21] are still significant (2,528) as are postgraduate registrations on programmes such as mass communications and documentation (123 full-time equivalent students).

text: The most popular module during 2009–10 was DD101 An introduction to the social sciences (7,512 students), followed by AA100 The Arts Past and Present, B120 An Introduction to Business Studies, K101 An Introduction to Health and Social Care and Y163 Starting with Psychology.[21]

text: Fees and financial assistance[edit]

text: 17,634 students received financial assistance towards their study in 2015-16.[42] The typical cost for United Kingdom-based students of a Bachelor's honours degree at the OU was between £3,780 and £5,130 in 2009-10. From September 2012 the Government reduced its funding for all students residing in England and fees went up to compensate. English students pay higher fees than those living the rest of the United Kingdom. The average cost of one full-time year or 120 credits rose to £5,000, bringing the cost of an average Bachelor's honours degree for an English student to £15,000. (European Union and international students pay more as the university does not receive government funding for them).[21] The most important revenue stream to the Open University is now academic fees paid by the students, which totalled about £157 million in 2009–10 and £248 million in 2015-16.[21][42]

text: Qualifications awarded[edit]

text: The university enrolled fewer than 50,000 students in the 1970–71 academic year, but it quickly exceeded that number by 1974–75.[21] By 1987–88 yearly enrollment had doubled to 100,000 students, passing 200,000 by 2001–02 and 250,000 in 2009–10.[21] Numbers fell when the fee regime changed.

text: Cumulatively, by the end of 2009–10 the OU had educated more than 1.5 million students and awarded 819,564 qualifications after successful assessment.[21]

text: In addition, the Open University provides certification for qualifications at Ruskin College in Oxford and Richmond, the American International University in London, a private liberal arts institution. (Until 2008, it provided the same service for the University of the Highlands and Islands in Scotland).

text: Open University Students Association[edit]

text: The Open University Students Association is the equivalent of a students' union for the Open University, and is a registered charity wholly funded by the Open University (OU). The association is governed by a Board of Trustees and a Central Executive Committee. Each student registered with the OU automatically becomes part of the Students Association unless they elect to formally opt out. It offers opportunities to meet up, volunteer, find information and access services to support learning.

text: Notable current and former academics[edit]

text:
Jocelyn Bell Burnell – astronomer
Tim Benton – art historian
Gordon Brown – former Prime Minister and OU tutor
Catherine Cooke – architect and Russian scholar
Nigel Cross – design researcher
David Edmonds – philosopher, broadcaster
Anna Ford – journalist
Brian J. Ford – author
Monica Grady – meteoricist
Brian Goodwin – biologist
Oswald Hanfling – philosopher and interpreter of Wittgenstein
Stuart Hall – social scientist
Arthur Marwick – historian
Doreen Massey – geographer
Oliver Penrose – mathematician
Mike Pentz – physicist
Colin Pillinger – planetary scientist
Steven Rose – biologist
Russell Stannard – physicist
Hilary Wainwright – editor of Red Pepper magazine
Nigel Warburton – philosopher, author
Margaret Wetherell – discourse analyst, social psychologist
Glenn White – astronomer
Robin Wilson – mathematician
John Zarnecki – space scientist

text: Notable alumni, graduates and honorees[edit]

text: The OU has over two million alumni, including:

text:
Joan Armatrading – singer, songwriter and guitarist.[50]
Elizabeth Arnold – children's writer
Craig Brown – former Scotland football manager[51]
Natalya Kaspersky – co-founder and co-owner of Kaspersky Lab[52]
Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burridge – Royal Air Force (RAF) officer[53]
Katy Cavanagh – former Coronation Street TV soap actress; played character Julie Carp[54]
Peter Cottrell – soldier, author and military historian
Bobby Cummines OBE FRSA – charity chief executive and reformed offender; recipient of OU honorary degree
Romola Garai – actress
Dean Gratton – author and columnist
Frank Hampson – illustrator and creator of Dan Dare
Sir Lenny Henry – entertainer[55]
Gerry Hughes – sailor, first single-handed crossing of the Atlantic by a deaf person
Myra Hindley – convicted murderer and prisoner[56]
Myleene Klass – actress and media personality
Paul Marsden – writer, businessman and former Labour/Liberal Democrat MP
Neil McIntosh – journalist
Gordon Pask – cybernetician and psychologist
David Andrew Phoenix OBE – biochemist
John Reid – Labour politician and former Cabinet minister
Talulah Riley – actress[57]
Graham Smith – CEO of Republic
Mary Stuart – Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lincoln[58]
Elliott Marc Jones, creator of Redactem (IndieGameStand's highest rated game)
David Wilkinson – psychologist, ambiguity theorist and Oxford academic
Meles Zenawi – former Prime Minister of Ethiopia[59]

text: In fiction[edit]

text: The Open University has been featured in many film and television programmes. The plot of Educating Rita surrounds the working class character aiming to "improve" herself by studying English literature. She attends private tutorials run by alcoholic lecturer Frank.[60]

text: Television characters have also followed OU courses. These include Anne Bryce in the BBC sit-com Ever Decreasing Circles, Yvonne Sparrow in Goodnight Sweetheart and Bulman, in the ITV spin-off from the series Strangers. Sheila Grant (Sue Johnston) was accused of having an affair with her tutor in Brookside. Onslow, a character from Keeping up Appearances, watches Open University programming on television from time to time.

text: In autumn 2006, Lenny Henry was a star in Slings and Arrows, a one-off BBC television drama which he also wrote, about someone who falls in love while on an OU English Literature course. (Henry has himself completed an OU degree in English.)[55]

text: In the 2006–07 TV series Life on Mars, Sam Tyler received messages from the real world via Open University programmes late at night.

text: Partner institutions[edit]

text:
All Nations
American College of Thessaloniki
Arab Open University
Architectural Association School of Architecture
Ballet West
Bridgewater and Taunton College
Calderdale College
Christie's Education
Craven College
Education for Health
Havering College of Further and Higher Education
HKU - University of the Arts Utrecht, Netherlands
Hochschule für Internationales Management Heidelberg
Hull College Group
Leeds City College
Leeds College of Art
London College of Creative Media Limited
Maryvale Institute
New College Durham
Newham College (University Centre Stratford)
Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust (Institute of Mental Health)
Plymouth College of Art
Quayside School of Higher Education
Regent's University London
Richmond, The American International University in London
RNFAA (Military Aviation Academy)
Ruskin College Oxford
Sheffield College
The American College of Greece - DEREE College[61]