Dollar Rivals / Jeffrey A. Frankel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Frankel, Jeffrey A.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w31476.

NBER working paper series no. w31476

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2023.

Summary:

Written on the 50th anniversary of floating exchange rates, this paper deals with possible alternatives to a unipolar dollar-based system. It considers (1) measures of international currency use; (2) potential challengers to the dollar; (3) network externalities; and (4) the plausibility of gold and digital currencies, as alternatives to regular currencies. On the one hand, network externalities operate in favor of the status quo: the dollar as the single leading international currency. On the other hand, the danger of abuse of exorbitant privilege - for example, by debasing the currency or repeated use of sanctions - operates in favor of challengers. A good guess is that the dollar will continue to lose market share slowly to others, but will remain in the lead.

Notes:

Print version record

July 2023.