Under the gold standard, the dollar was convertible into gold at a fixed price of $20.67 an ounce. To stabilize the price level, the economist Irving Fisher had produced a plan for a “compensated dollar,” which would vary the dollar’s gold value to offset rising or falling prices, in effect allowing the Fed to issue more or fewer dollars as dictated by business conditions.
金本位制度规定20.67美元可兑换1盎司黄金。为了稳定这个价格水平，经济学家欧文·费舍尔设计了一个“美元补偿”方案，使美元可以不断调整其含金量以抵消价格升跌所造成的影响，并允许美联储依据市场情况决定发钞量的大小。