Difference between revisions of "US/Dollar/hegemony"
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*Lower import costs/domestic inflation than what would exist by normal trading alone. | *Lower import costs/domestic inflation than what would exist by normal trading alone. | ||
*Ability to run large trade deficits (by exchanging valuable resources for paper IOUs)<ref>[http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/why-dollar-hegemony-unhealthy Why Dollar Hegemony Is Unhealthy]</ref> | *Ability to run large trade deficits (by exchanging valuable resources for paper IOUs)<ref>[http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/why-dollar-hegemony-unhealthy Why Dollar Hegemony Is Unhealthy]</ref> | ||
| − | *Increased demand for US financial assets (driving up prices of stocks and bonds and lowering interest rates, therefore increasing (apparent) household wealth) | + | *Increased demand for US financial assets (driving up prices of stocks and bonds and lowering interest rates, therefore increasing (apparent) household wealth).<ref>[http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/why-dollar-hegemony-unhealthy Why Dollar Hegemony Is Unhealthy]</ref> |
| − | *Foreign-held US dollars can be used as "''hostage capital''". In the event of political conflict between the United States and another nation, the former with all its military power can confiscate or freeze these assets or otherwise limit their use. It can impose special regulations or at least use regulations for a time, in order to attain certain political, economic, or other goals. | + | *Foreign-held US dollars can be used as "''hostage capital''". In the event of political conflict between the United States and another nation, the former with all its military power can confiscate or freeze these assets or otherwise limit their use. It can impose special regulations or at least use regulations for a time, in order to attain certain political, economic, or other goals.<ref>[http://faculty.georgetown.edu/imo3/petrod/define.htm Definition of Petrodollars]</ref> |
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 13:27, 8 September 2014
The term describes a geopolitical phenomenon of the 20th century in which the U.S. dollar, a fiat currency, became the primary reserve currency internationally. Three developments allowed dollar hegemony to emerge over a span of two decades.
Contents
Stages of development
Abandoning the gold standard
The Bretton Woods system established a fixed exchange rate regime based on a gold-backed dollar in 1945. The USA did not view cross-border flow of funds necessary or desirable for promoting trade or economic development. In response to the accrual of negative consequences from the Triffin dilemma[1], President Richard Nixon abandoned the Bretton Woods regime in 1971 and suspended the dollar's peg to gold as US fiscal deficits from overseas spending caused a massive drain in U.S. gold holdings.
Petrodollar
Denomination of oil in dollars after the 1973 Middle East oil crisis increased demand for US dollars; see petrodollars.
Deregulation
The emergence of deregulated global financial markets after the Cold War made cross-border flow of funds routine.
Advantages for the USA
- Lower import costs/domestic inflation than what would exist by normal trading alone.
- Ability to run large trade deficits (by exchanging valuable resources for paper IOUs)[2]
- Increased demand for US financial assets (driving up prices of stocks and bonds and lowering interest rates, therefore increasing (apparent) household wealth).[3]
- Foreign-held US dollars can be used as "hostage capital". In the event of political conflict between the United States and another nation, the former with all its military power can confiscate or freeze these assets or otherwise limit their use. It can impose special regulations or at least use regulations for a time, in order to attain certain political, economic, or other goals.[4]
References
Notes
See also
video: The_absurdity_of_Dollar_hegemony
Page credit
This page imported content from Wikipedia on 9 September 2014.Wikipedia is not affiliated with Wikispooks. Original page source here
