Every few months, headlines announce that countries want to “move away from the dollar.” India settles a shipment in rupees, African economies test regional payment systems, and the BRICS group ...

The foreign exchange rate, often abbreviated as “forex” or “F.X.,” is a fundamental concept in international finance and trade. It plays a pivotal role in the global economy and impacts individuals, ...

Put simply, exchange rates compare the value of one currency to another. They measure how much of one currency it takes to purchase a unit of another. Exchange rates are ultimately determined in ...

IMF Article IV requires that the IMF exercise “firm surveillance” over the exchange rate policies of members. After the collapse of the Bretton Woods fixed exchange rate system, the IMF in 1977 ...

Since the end of the gold-based fixed exchange rate system in 1971 and the transition to a floating exchange rate system, severe banking and monetary crises have plagued the world almost nonstop. The ...

Fifty years ago, the world changed. On August 15, 1971, US President Richard Nixon slammed shut the “gold window,” suspending dollar convertibility. Although it was not Nixon’s intention, this act ...

The Economic Issues series was inaugurated in September 1996. Its aim is to make some of the economic research being produced in the International Monetary Fund on topical issues accessible to a broad ...