Our Dollar, Your Problem

Featured in the Financial Times’ “What to Read in 2025”

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A leading economist examines the global rise of the US dollar and shows why its future stability is far from certain The US currency might not have reached its current high without a bit of luck, according to Kenneth Rogoff. Drawing partly on his own experiences, including with politicians and world leaders, the author brings the dollar’s remarkable postwar rise to life, reveals the challenges the rest of the world faces in dealing with it, and explains how that experience can help shape the contours of the emerging new global financial system. Americans cannot take for granted that the dollar’s era will continue indefinitely, not only because many countries are deeply disillusioned with the system, but also because overconfidence and arrogance can lead to unnecessary mistakes. Rogoff shows how America’s enormous power and excessive privilege can cause financial instability - and not just abroad!

The central argument of “It’s our dollar, it’s your problem” - that the greenback’s supremacy was never guaranteed - is extremely relevant. (The Economist)