This book explains how the US dollar serves as the primary reserve currency for the international financial system and assesses its prospects for the future. The book provides an analysis of the main factors that have given rise to the global currency power of the dollar and the key benefits...

Introduction -- Financial globalization and the international financial architecture -- The evolution of the global financial order -- The breakdown of the Bretton Woods system and first reform of the international financial architecture -- Emerging market financial crises and the second reform...