Our Dollar, Your Problem: An Insider's View of Seven Turbulent Decades of Global Finance, and the Road Ahead

by Kenneth Rogoff

ISBN: 9780300275315
Published: May 2025
Publisher: Yale University Press
Format: Hardback
Pages: 360
English

Description:

A National Bestseller • Recommended by Financial Times as "What to Read in 2025"

A leading economist explores the global rise of the U.S. dollar and shows why its future stability is far from assured. Our Dollar, Your Problem argues that America's currency might not have reached today's lofty pinnacle without a certain amount of good luck. Drawing in part on his own experiences, including with policymakers and world leaders, Kenneth Rogoff animates the remarkable postwar run of the dollar — how it beat out the Japanese yen, the Soviet ruble, and the euro — and the challenges it faces today from crypto and the Chinese yuan, the end of reliably low inflation and interest rates, political instability, and the fracturing of the dollar bloc.

Americans cannot take for granted that the Pax Dollar era will last indefinitely, not only because many countries are deeply frustrated with the system, but also because overconfidence and arrogance can lead to unforced errors. Rogoff shows how America's outsized power and exorbitant privilege can spur financial instability — not just abroad but also at home.

About the Author: Kenneth Rogoff is Maurits C. Boas Professor of Economics at Harvard University and former International Monetary Fund chief economist, coauthor of the New York Times bestselling This Time Is Different.

Praise: "The central argument—that the greenback's pre-eminence was never guaranteed and might plausibly be overturned—could hardly be more timely." — The Economist. "An invaluable resource." — Ian Bremmer.

Keywords

US dollar, global finance, Kenneth Rogoff, economic power, monetary policy, currency crisis, international trade, inflation, IMF, China economy

Target Audience

Economists, policymakers, financial analysts, students of economics, central bankers, investors, business leaders

Genre

Economics, Politics, History, Finance, International Relations

Q&A

Q: Where can I buy Our Dollar, Your Problem?
A: You can order this book directly from CLNZ Books at clnzbooks.com, with worldwide shipping and secure payment by credit card or PayPal.

Q: What is the book's central argument?
A: That the U.S. dollar's global pre-eminence was never guaranteed and could plausibly be overturned, given challenges from crypto, the Chinese yuan, and political instability.

Q: What currencies does Rogoff say the dollar beat out?
A: The Japanese yen, the Soviet ruble, and the euro, across the postwar decades.

Q: Who is Kenneth Rogoff?
A: Maurits C. Boas Professor of Economics at Harvard University and former IMF chief economist, coauthor of This Time Is Different.

Q: Who is this book for?
A: Economists, policymakers, financial analysts, investors, and students of international finance.

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