Exorbitant privilege: the rise and fall of the dollar and the future of the international monetary system

In Exorbitant Privilege, one of our foremost economists, Barry Eichengreen, traces the rise of the dollar to international prominence over the course of the 20th century. He shows how the greenback dominated internationally in the second half of the century for the same reasons - and in the same way - that the United States dominated the global economy. But now, with the rise of China, India, Brazil and other emerging economies, America no longer towers over the global economy. It follows, Eichengreen argues, that the dollar will not be as dominant. But this does not mean that the coming changes will necessarily be sudden and dire - or that the dollar is doomed to lose its international status. Challenging the presumption that there is room for only one true global currency - either the dollar or something else - Eichengreen shows that several currencies have shared this international role over long periods. What was true in the distant past will be true, once again, in the not-too-distant future. (http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Economics/International/?view=usa&ci=9780199753789)