Ben Waber reviewed Our Dollar, Your Problem by Kenneth Rogoff
A Self-Indulgent but Vital Book
5 stars
This is an essential dive into the nature of US dollar dominance and global currency flows more broadly. Rogoff provides extremely insightful analysis of both the history of global reserve currencies and the causes and implications for nations that gain that title. While the writing is very engaging, it's also deeply self-aggrandizing and exhibits a lack of serious self reflection in all but a few minor circumstances - Rogoff is eager to tell you about how he hobnobbed with important people and made the wrong call on how long Brazil could maintain a pegged exchange rate, for example, but nothing on completely missing the 2007 financial crisis or the IMF's demonstrably failed policies on austerity demands. Ignoring that (and it occasionally takes some effort), the core messages here are so important and illuminating that this book remains a must read. Highly recommend
This is an essential dive into the nature of US dollar dominance and global currency flows more broadly. Rogoff provides extremely insightful analysis of both the history of global reserve currencies and the causes and implications for nations that gain that title. While the writing is very engaging, it's also deeply self-aggrandizing and exhibits a lack of serious self reflection in all but a few minor circumstances - Rogoff is eager to tell you about how he hobnobbed with important people and made the wrong call on how long Brazil could maintain a pegged exchange rate, for example, but nothing on completely missing the 2007 financial crisis or the IMF's demonstrably failed policies on austerity demands. Ignoring that (and it occasionally takes some effort), the core messages here are so important and illuminating that this book remains a must read. Highly recommend