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The International Monetary System: Living with Asymmetry

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  • Obstfeld, Maurice

Abstract

This paper analyzes current stresses in the two key areas that concerned the architects of the original Bretton Woods system: international liquidity and exchange rate management. Despite radical changes since World War II in the market context for liquidity and exchange rate concerns, they remain central to discussions of international macroeconomic policy coordination. To take two prominent examples of specific (and related) coordination problems, liquidity issues are paramount in strategies of national self-insurance through foreign reserve accumulation, while recent attempts by emerging market economies (EMEs) to limit real currency appreciation have relied heavily on nominal exchange rate management. A central message is that a diverse set of potential asymmetries among sovereign member states provides fertile ground for a variety of coordination failures. The paper goes on to discuss institutions and policies that might mitigate some of these inefficiencies.

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  • Obstfeld, Maurice, 2011. "The International Monetary System: Living with Asymmetry," CEPR Discussion Papers 8703, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8703
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    Cited by:

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    2. Michael D. Bordo & Robert N. McCauley, 2019. "Triffin: Dilemma or Myth?," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 67(4), pages 824-851, December.
    3. Carmen M. Reinhart, 2019. "Financial crises: past and future," Business Economics, Palgrave Macmillan;National Association for Business Economics, vol. 54(1), pages 3-15, January.
    4. Kim, Duhyeong, 2023. "International effects of quantitative easing and foreign exchange intervention," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    5. Landau, J.P., 2012. "Policies on sovereign debt," Financial Stability Review, Banque de France, issue 16, pages 191-201, April.
    6. Maurice Obstfeld & Alan M. Taylor, 2017. "International Monetary Relations: Taking Finance Seriously," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 31(3), pages 3-28, Summer.
    7. George Pantelopoulos, 2021. "Exogenous and endogenous sterilisation under managed exchange rates," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 756-779, September.
    8. Sebastián Fanelli & Ludwig Straub, 2021. "A Theory of Foreign Exchange Interventions [The Cost of Foreign Exchange Intervention: Concepts and Measurement]," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(6), pages 2857-2885.
    9. Michel Aglietta & Virginie Coudert, 2019. "The dollar and the Transition to Sustainable Development: From Key Currency to Multilateralism," CEPII Policy Brief 2019-26, CEPII research center.
    10. Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas & Hélène Rey & Maxime Sauzet, 2019. "The International Monetary and Financial System," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 11(1), pages 859-893, August.
    11. Philip R. Lane, 2013. "Growth And Adjustment Challenges For The Euro Area," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 44(2), pages 273-295.
    12. Mikhail V. Zharikov, 2022. "The Model of a Shared Interest Rate for a Group of Countries to Circulate a Digital Currency: Featuring the BRICS," Journal of Central Banking Theory and Practice, Central bank of Montenegro, vol. 11(2), pages 187-208.
    13. Jeremy Srouji, 2021. "Why is World Money World Money? A View from the Functions of Money," GREDEG Working Papers 2021-44, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    14. Alan M. Taylor, 2012. "Global Financial Stability and the Lessons of History: A Review of Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff's This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(4), pages 1092-1105, December.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Currency wars; Exchange rates; Global imbalances; International monetary system; Liquidity; Triffin dilemma;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F32 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Current Account Adjustment; Short-term Capital Movements
    • F33 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Monetary Arrangements and Institutions
    • F36 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Financial Aspects of Economic Integration
    • F42 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - International Policy Coordination and Transmission
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets

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