Reframing The US Dollar Debate: What Outlook for the US Dollar as World Money?

Jeremy Srouji
Additional contact information
Jeremy Srouji: Université Côte d'Azur, France

No 2022-06, GREDEG Working Papers from Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France

Abstract: It is often difficult to make sense of the range of optimistic, cautious, and pessimistic views about the sustainability of the US dollar's role as the top international currency. This paper reframes the US dollar debate by demonstrating that economists generally draw on two distinct theories of currency internationalization, with very different assumptions about how currencies achieve and maintain an international role. These assumptions often remain implicit, but are essential to make sense of the debate, as well as the question of international money more generally. The paper then considers whether crypto currencies and central bank digital currencies could play the international currency role, as understood by these theories. It concludes by reflecting on whether in an increasingly multipolar world the question of the sustainability of the US dollar's international role is misplaced, particularly given the growing support for the establishment of a true global international reserve currency.

Keywords: US dollar; international money; international monetary system reform; US debt; Bretton Woods II; global macroeconomic imbalances (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F01 F33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 27 pages
Date: 2022-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cba, nep-mac, nep-mon, nep-opm and nep-pay
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://195.220.190.85/GREDEG-WP-2022-06.pdf First version (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gre:wpaper:2022-06

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in GREDEG Working Papers from Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Patrice Bougette ().