A leading economist explores the U.S. dollar’s inexorable postwar global expansion and argues that today’s outsized footprint may portend greater financial instability at home and abroad
The U.S. dollar has held supremacy in the global financial system for over a century, and while its era may not be over, it is fraying at both the edges and the center. Drawing in part on his own experiences, including with policymakers and world leaders, the economist Kenneth Rogoff animates the remarkable postwar run of the dollar—how it beat out the Japanese yen, the Soviet ruble, and the euro—and the challenges it faces from crypto and digital currencies, the possible end of reliably low inflation and interest rates, and the fracturing of the dollar bloc.
In examining how the dollar has long prevailed despite most countries’ frustrations with the system, not to mention U.S. missteps and arrogance, Rogoff shows how outsized power and exorbitant privilege can lead to greater financial instability—not just abroad but also at home.
Kenneth Rogoff is Maurits C. Boas Professor of Economics at Harvard University and former International Monetary Fund chief economist. One of the world’s foremost observers on the global economy, he is coauthor of the New York Times bestselling This Time Is Different.
“A tour de force—Ken Rogoff’s prescient view on the possibly ‘shrinking’ dollar is certainly not to be taken lightly. In this sweeping portrait of the international monetary system, Rogoff pairs delightful personal anecdotes with complex and wide-ranging issues in an engaging way. This is a book no one else could have written.”—Hélène Rey, Lord Bagri Professor of Economics at London Business School
“Rogoff brilliantly describes the dominance of the dollar across time and space, its contenders, and the limits to its immortality, weaving in his personal experiences which makes for a delightful read.”—Gita Gopinath, First Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
“Ken Rogoff is one of the world’s leading experts on international finance. In this book he combines his wide experience as a policymaker, academic, and observer of the global economy to provide a fascinating and accessible analysis of looming challenges to economic and financial stability.”—Ben Bernanke, former Chair of the Federal Reserve
“Part magisterial analysis of global finance, part autobiography of one of the great economists of our times, Our Dollar, Your Problem is both educative and lively at the same time.”—Raghuram Rajan, author of The Third Pillar
“Rogoff delivers a grandmaster performance, providing compelling insight into the history and future of dollar dominance.”—Magnus Carlsen
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