Is a strong U.S. dollar good for us Americans? Is it good for Europeans, specifically those whose currency is the Euro? How about emerging countries? Is a strong U.S. dollar good for them? What if those emerging markets borrow in dollars? Then, wouldn't a strong dollar make servicing those debts more difficult for them? And if so, should the Federal Reserve - America's central bank, take the economic well-being of other countries, e.g., developing nations, into consideration when it sets and changes its monetary policies? Hm! Believe it or not, this issue has been raised in international conferences. 

For answers to all these questions, we speak with Professor Barry Eichengreen, the Chair and Distinguished Professor of Economics and Professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley. Dr. Eichengreen has won many prestigious awards for teaching and his scholarship, and he was named one of Foreign Policy Magazine's 100 Leading Global Thinkers in 2011. He is a past president of the Economic History Association, and a Research Associate of the NBER. 

In this episode, Dr. Eichengreen talks about the history of the dollar's valuation - from its zenith to its nadir, and provides many anecdotes that liven the discussions (think pizza coins). 

And here is the link to my previous conversation with Dr. Eichengreen about cryptocurrency (S2E12).

I hope you enjoy these two episodes, 

Adel

Host of the History Behind News podcast

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