The special drawing right: a formal critic to the dollar dominance in the international monetary system

Vol. 37 No. 2 (2017)

Apr-Jun / 2017
Published February 26, 2020
PDF-English
PDF-English

How to Cite

Alves Martins, Aline Regina. 2017. “The Special Drawing Right: A Formal Critic to the Dollar Dominance in the International Monetary System”. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy 37 (2):401-16. https://doi.org/10.1590/0101-31572017v37n02a08.

The special drawing right: a formal critic to the dollar dominance in the international monetary system

Aline Regina Alves Martins
Professor of International Relations at the Federal University of Goiás - Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG).
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 37 No. 2 (2017), Apr-Jun / 2017, Pages 401-416

Abstract

In the late-1960’s, international discussions over a possible reform of the international monetary system originated the Special Drawing Right (SDR). While they had been created initially to represent an additional asset to complement theexisting reserves of U.S. dollars and gold, after the crisis of the Bretton Woods system the SDR was considered a possible substitute of the U.S. dollar. Relying on a consolidated literature, this article aims at demonstrating that the origins of the SDR were not the exclusive result of technical financial negotiations, but of the convergence of higher political interests against the United States and the dollar dominance.

JEL Classification: F33; E42; F02.


Keywords: Special drawing right international reserve asset international monetary reform dollar hegemony