26. Global Powers and the International Currencies: What Does the Last Years Suggest for the Future?

Starting from the literature that identifies different factors which determine whether a currency plays a global role, we propose an analysis of international status of major currencies using the following criteria: the demographic, economic, commercial, and financial size and importance of the currency issuer, the currency issuer’s financial market, and the history of using currency. We consider that the international use of a currency is mainly defined by the issuer’s place in the global economy, including its share of world trade and the size of its economy and financial market. The US dollar’s reference position was less influenced by the introduction of the euro, but nowadays it may be affected by the growing importance of China, the decline of the US political and economic power, and the crisis of the European Union.