For half a century, the United States has garnered substantial political and economic benefits as a result of
the dollar's de facto role as a global currency. In recent years, however, the dollar's preponderant position in
world markets has come under challenge. The dollar has been more volatile than ever against foreign currencies,
and various nations have switched to non-dollar instruments in their transactions. China and the Arab Gulf states
continue to hold massive amounts of U.S. government obligations, in effect subsidizing U.S. current account deficits,
and those holdings are a point of potential vulnerability for American policy. What is the future of the U.S. dollar
as an international currency? Will predictions of its demise end up just as inaccurate as those that have accompanied
major international financial crises since the early 1970s? Analysts disagree, often profoundly, in their answers
to these questions. In The Future of the Dollar, leading scholars of dollar's international role bring multidisciplinary
perspectives and a range of contrasting predictions to the question of the dollar's future. This timely book provides
readers with a clear sense of why such disagreements exist and it outlines a variety of future scenarios and the
possible political implications for the United States and the world.