Innovations in the International Monetar

The International Monetary System appears to be showing some sign of change 50 years after the collapse of the Bretton Woods System in 1971, particularly since the Ukraine war started in 2022. Russian banks were excluded from the SWIFT and relied on the Chinese settlement system. Russia and Saudi Arabia export oil to China and some Asian countries in exchange for RMB. People’s Bank of China has established many currency swap arrangements with Asian, Latin American, and African central banks. The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have expanded membership, and it has been rumored that they may eventually issue their international currency, escaping from the dominant US dollar. This course aims to provide a historical perspective on the international monetary system so that its possible future developments can be envisaged. At the same time, through each period’s international monetary system, the structure of the world economy and finance at large could be well understood. The theoretical underpinning of various international monetary systems will also be analyzed. This course is open to students of SIPA and Columbia Business School. Columbia Business School students interested in this course must add their names to the waitlist. The instructor will notify you if you are approved for registration.