The Dollar Dominance
: Recent Episode of Trade Invoicing and Debt Issuance |
Adrien Faudot, Jean-François Ponsot, |
| Centre de Recherche en Economie de Grenoble, Grenoble, France |
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Corresponding Author:
Adrien Faudot ,Tel: +33 476825402, Email: adrien.faudot@ univ-grenoble-alpes.fr |
| Copyright ©2016 The Journal of Economic Integration |
| ABSTRACT |
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The international monetary system is known to be asymmetric given the dominant use of a few international currencies. The international trade of developing countries is mainly invoiced in US dollars, unlike industrialized countries which invoice a much higher share of their exports in their home currencies. The same logic is at work in the issuance of international debt. While the attempts to challenge the supremacy of the US dollars have failed in most cases, China is coming to the fore and is increasing its use of the Renminbi, even supported by its growing recognition within the International Monetary Fund. By reassessing the relevance of existing academic works, this paper demonstrates how monetary asymmetries have been reinforced in recent decades, and offers explanations related to currency choices. Finally, this paper offers the conclusion that international monetary reform is necessary. One cannot overlook that the monetary system embodies a major constraint on the sovereignty of developing countries and that some developing countries have set out to challenge the US dollar usage.
JEL Classification
B22: Macroeconomics
F14: Empirical Studies of Trade
F36: Financial Aspects of Economic Integration
F65: Finance |
| Keywords:
Currency Hierarchy | Grassman’s Law | Original Sin | International Monetary System
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