The Next Best Thing to a Global Currency? The IMF’s Special Drawing Rights

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) can issue countries with an international reserve asset called ‘special drawing rights’ (SDR) – essentially a form of money – to help in times of financial crisis. The biggest ever issue of SDRs injected vital liquidity into the international economy at the height of the 2008 financial crisis. Some are now calling for the SDR to replace the dollar as the leading international reserve currency.

This GEG seminar brings together three leading academics to evaluate the IMF’s monetary functions and debate its future, including ways to make it more responsive to the needs of developing countries:

• Jeff Chweiroth, Professor of International Economy at Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics
• Professor Ngaire Woods, Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government and Director of the Global Economic Governance Programme
• Dr Camila Duran, Global Leaders Fellow, University of Oxford, and Associate Professor at the Law School of the University of São Paulo