An agreement signed in 1944 that outlined rules and regulations for an international monetary system. It established a fixed exchange rate linked to the U.S. dollar, with other countries pegging their currency to the dollar. It created the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), a precursor for the modern World Bank. By the 1970s the fixed exchange rate collapsed, as the U.S. was no longer willing to exchange the dollar for gold. The agreement was so named because it was signed in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire.