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Worldtheories

- by Skunks

This Month in Geoeconomics; The Dollar in Danger, Regional Monetary Integration

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From the Council on Foreign Relations

November 29, 2007

View this newsletter as a web page on CFR.org

The Dollar in Danger

The dollar, like the gold standard before it, is under pressure. For the United States, a falling dollar means pricier imports but also an export boom that could carry the economy through its housing bust. Yet, for countries that use the euro, a weak dollar means a loss of competitiveness. And for dollar-pegging exporters, a falling dollar worsens the export boom that is overheating their economies. In this Financial Times op-ed, Benn Steil and Manuel Hinds write that the dollar's days as the international reserve currency may be numbered. Sebastian Mallaby echoes this argument in a recent Washington Post op-ed. Brad Setser makes the case for oil-exporting Gulf states to stop pegging to the dollar in this Peterson Institute policy brief.

Related Article: "Digital Gold and a Flawed Global Order" by Benn Steil

Related CFR.org Interview: "Understanding the Falling Dollar" with Brad Setser

Regional Monetary Integration

This new book by GEC fellow Peter B. Kenen and Ellen Meade surveys the prospects for regional monetary integration in various parts of the world. Beginning with a brief review of the theory of optimal currency areas, it goes on to examine the structure and functioning of the European Monetary Union, then turns to the prospects for monetary integration in North America, South America, and East Asia. Regional Monetary Integration also examines the implications of monetary integration for the United States and the U.S. dollar.

Read more on global monetary policy in Benn Steil's recent article "Comment: Globalization Makes National Currencies Obsolete"

What Resource Wars?

In this piece for The National Interest, David Victor looks at imagined wars that could erupt as China and India scramble for oil, as well as the various hypotheses surrounding the possibility that climate change could trigger conflicts over water and other scarce resources. He argues that "resource wars" are rising in the public imagination yet are unlikely to occur in reality.

Task Force Report: National Security Consequences of U.S. Oil Dependency

IMF Reform: A Marathon, Not A Sprint

In this article, Peter Kenen evaluates progress on the recent IMF reform effort. He outlines the Fund's achievements on a number of changes proposed by the Managing Director in the Medium-Term Strategy paper. Kenen argues this reform must continue, not just until next year's meeting of the Fund's Board of Governors, but for some time thereafter.

Council Special Report: Reform of the International Monetary Fund

Must Reads

In this Washington Post op-ed, Sebastian Mallaby argues that while people agree that action on climate change is essential, they disagree so fiercely on the details that action may prove impossible.

Recent Reports from the GEC

The Case for Wage Insurance


The Economic Logic of Illegal Immigration


The United States and the WTO Dispute Settlement System

GEC Meetings

Nobel Prize winner Edmund S. Phelps and GEC fellow James P. Dougherty hosted a two day conference "The Dynamism of U.S. Capitalism: Is it Deficient? Is it Endangered?"


Video; Audio: 11/19 The Global Credit Crunch with Martin Feldstein and Allan Meltzer


Video: 11/12 Prosperity or Protectionism? with Matthew Bishop, Amity Shlaes, and Thomas Cooley


Interviews and Podcasts

Podcast: Putting Protectionism in Historical Context with Amity Shlaes


Interview: Let U.S. Farmers Compete in the Marketplace with Representative Ron Kind


New from CFR.org

Daily Analysis: France's Economic Battle Royale

Daily Analysis: Troubling Harvest for Trade

Daily Analysis: Economic Problems at Every Turn

Backgrounder: Inequalities in Asia's Giants

"Council on Foreign Relations"-Annapolis - Finance - Africa - Lebanon Islam and the West---------"No picnic"

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