Why did monetary authorities hold large gold reserves under Bretton Woods (1944–1971) when only the US had to? We argue that gold holdings were driven by inst

The US dollar is the world's indispensable currency. The dollar's preeminent status gives the United States enormous coercive powers which it flexes in the form

"Reconsidering the limits-past, present, future-of the financial institutions that stand between us and the abyss. Two financial crises in two decades have expa

After moving slowly downward for the better part of four decades, central bank gold holdings have risen since the Global Financial Crisis. We identify 14 “act

This book analyzes public debt from a political, historical, and global perspective. It demonstrates that public debt has been a defining feature in the constru