The 1990s witnessed an increase in international financial turbulence. In fact, financial crises have become a global policy issue, due to their frequency, size, geographic extension, and social costs, while an array of policy actions have been advocated to prevent crises from happening again. One significant, yet controversial question is whether efforts should be directed towards national reforms in emerging markets or, rather, towards a new international design of international payments. After a critical review of the standing proposals, this paper contends that this debate has not yet fully explored one of the problems of international instability, that is to say, the problem raised by international payments in a world where currencies are of diverse quality. As Keynes firmly contended, the monetary side of the (global) economy is not a neutral factor. In fact, it may be that some of the fundamental factors behind any model of international financial instability, are the problems posed by the different degrees of “international moneyness” that make currencies unequal. Viewed in this light, a major re-design of international payments systems is warranted, and options seem limited to either world dollarization or the ‘bancor’ solution. Recent reformulations of Keynes’s original ‘bancor’ proposal seem to be a more viable alternative to either the status quo or world dollarization.
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Find related papers by JEL classification: F02 - International Economics - - General - - - International Economic Order; Noneconomic International Organizations;; Economic Integration and Globalization: General F33 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Monetary Arrangements and Institutions F34 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Lending and Debt Problems G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
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