The Dollar Trap: How the U.S. Dollar Tightened Its Grip On Global Finance

Prasad maintains that the global financial crisis has actually strengthened the U.S. dollar’s prominence and made it the most sought-after currency. He explained this in a Chats in the Stacks book talk at Mann Library Sept. 24, 2014, touching on contemporary issues in international finance.

by Eswar Prasad, Tolani Senior Professor of Trade Policy

The creation of the euro in the late 20th century challenged the U.S. dollar’s position as the world’s leading reserve currency, and the Chinese renminbi has also emerged as a rising competitor. With the recent global financial crisis brought on by political dysfunction in the United States, many continue to speculate that the dollar’s pedestal position in the global economy will likely be displaced.

Eswar Prasad, author of ‘The Dollar Trap,’ maintains that the crisis has actually strengthened the dollar’s prominence in global finance and made it the most sought-after currency. He explained this in a Chats in the Stacks book talk at Mann Library Sept. 24, 2014, touching on contemporary issues in international finance–including the influence of emerging markets, the currency wars, the complexities of the China-U.S. relationship, and the role of institutions such as domestic judiciaries and international lending agencies.

Prasad is the Tolani Senior Professor of Trade Policy at Cornell’s Dyson School of Applied Economics, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.