Sterling's Past, Dollar's Future: Historical Perspectives on Reserve Currency Competition
Barry Eichengreen
University of California, Berkeley - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)
May 2005
NBER Working Paper No. w11336
Abstract:
This paper provides an historical perspective on reserve currency competition and on the prospects of the dollar as an international currency. It questions the conventional wisdom that competition for reserve-currency status is a winner-take-all game, showing that several currencies have often shared this role in the past and arguing that innovations in financial markets make it even more likely that they will do so in the future. It suggests that the dollar and the euro are likely to share this position for the foreseeable future. Hopes that the yuan could become a major international currency 20 or even 40 years from now are highly premature.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 32
working papers series
Suggested Citation
Eichengreen, Barry, Sterling's Past, Dollar's Future: Historical Perspectives on Reserve Currency Competition (May 2005). NBER Working Paper No. w11336. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=723305
