Doubts about the international dominance of the dollar are only growing amid worries about tariffs, political dysfunction, and fraying international alliances. Will the dollar continue to reign supreme? In Money Beyond Borders, the leading authority on international currencies, Barry Eichengreen, puts the dollar鈥檚 prospects in deep historical perspective by chronicling the entire history of cross-border currencies, from the invention of coins in the seventh century BCE to the cryptocurrencies of today and the central bank digital currencies of tomorrow.
Money Beyond Borders recounts how Greek and Roman coins became the first true international currencies. It tells how the Florentine gold florin became the 鈥済reenback of the Renaissance,鈥� and how it was succeeded by Spanish silver and a Dutch fiat currency. The book explains why the British pound dominated the international economy in the nineteenth century, why the dollar rose to the top during World War II, and why the dollar has survived predictions of the imminent loss of its preeminence since the 1970s.
The long history of international currencies shows that the same factors that encourage their widespread use eventually lead to their abandonment. Money Beyond Borders makes a powerful case that the dollar is now on the downside of this cycle, and it considers who the winners and losers will be when there is flight away from the greenback. Revealing important patterns in the life cycles of international currencies over the past 2,500 years, the book offers valuable lessons and insights about how currencies rise鈥攁nd why they fall.
Barry Eichengreen is the George C. and Helen N. Pardee Chair and Distinguished Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author and coauthor of many books, including Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System; How Global Currencies Work (快色直播); and Globalizing Capital (快色直播).
"A learned and highly readable history of the making and breaking of international currencies. . . . a fine book."鈥擝rett Christophers, Financial Times
"A history of international currencies, spanning 2,700 years, with huge relevance to the role of the U.S. dollar today."—Andrew Leigh MP, Australian Parliament
“Money Beyond Borders delivers what we have come to expect from Barry Eichengreen: a superb combination of erudition, lucidity, and comprehensiveness—sprinkled with lovely (and germane) historical vignettes spanning millennia. You will want this magisterial work on your bookshelf.”—Alan S. Blinder, author of A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States, 1961–2021
“In Money Beyond Borders, Barry Eichengreen, one of the world’s top international economists, traces the currencies that have dominated global exchange across history. In this erudite and always interesting narrative, he shows how factors ranging from a country’s prominence in international trade and investment to its military strength contribute to a currency’s international acceptability. At a time when some observers outside the United States lament the U.S. dollar’s extraordinary privileges while some Americans see it as an extraordinary burden, this timely book allows readers to assess the risks to the dollar’s continued dominance.”—Raghuram G. Rajan, former governor of the Reserve Bank of India and author of Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy
“From Croesus to crypto is a story that only the monetary historian Barry Eichengreen could pull off. We are lucky he did. The common patterns and tensions that he uncovers are the best guide to what is to come. As Money Beyond Borders demonstrates, new currency technologies will still take place in a world of nations and economic constraints.”—Adam S. Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics
“Barry Eichengreen illuminates the long arc of international money, from ancient coinage to digital tokens, showing how each era’s monetary innovations reflect globalization forces. With historical breadth and his trademark clarity, he explains the persistent tension between the national control of money and its international use. This is a masterful and timely guide to understanding not only the rise of cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies, but also the mechanisms that will shape the monetary order of tomorrow.”—H茅l猫ne Rey, London Business School
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