This was partially in response to G-10 leader Douglas Dillon's statement that academics were not being invited to participate in IMF and G-10 studies on monetary reform because they could not agree on solutions.
[1] Machlup wished to focus on and interrogate those disagreements and the group was seen as providing an intellectual, as opposed to political, assessment of aspects of monetary reform.
[4] In 1965, Fritz Machlup was asked by G-10 leader Otmar Emminger for the group's assistance in "creating an environment for policy makers to discuss adjustment issues and recommendations".
The Bellagio Group was revived in 1996 by Andrew Crockett, the General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements, who asked Peter Kenen to be the convener.
Past members of the group include prominent international economists such as: Rudiger Dornbusch, Stanley Fischer, Francesco Giavazzi, Peter Kenen, Philip Lane, Raghu Rajan, Ken Rogoff and Charles Wyplosz.