A remarkably deft work of storytelling that reveals how the blueprint for the postwar economic order was actually drawn.

A fascinating intellectual history of monetary nationalism from the ancient world to the present exploring why, in its modern incarnation, it represents the single greatest threat to globalization.

Over the past two decades, another form of economic exchange besides imports and exports has risen to a level of vastly greater significance and political concern: the purchase and sale of financial assets across borders.

CFR’s Benn Steil examines proposals for a regulatory overhaul of the U.S. financial system put forth by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

In this Wall Street Journal op-ed, Benn Steil argues that Calpers, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, is best viewed as a highly political "sovereign wealth fund." Governed by state political figures and union representatives, Calpers' investment decisions are frequently guided by foreign policy and social agendas rather than fundholder interests.

Mark Fisch and Benn Steil write that “the devastating credit squeeze that has been gumming up the interbank and commercial paper loan markets for months shows few signs of letting up. The underlying problem remains firmly in the market for subprime mortgages.”

In light of the recent turmoil in the foreign exchange markets, Benn Steil
condenses the arguments of his recent Foreign Affairs article, 'The End of
National Currency,' for Canada's leading financial daily.

In this Financial Times op-ed, Manuel Hinds and Benn Steil argue that the Fed's loose monetary policy could jeopardize the dollar's position as the international standard of value.

In the Spring/Summer 2007 issue of The Cato Journal, Benn Steil writes on "Federal Reserve Policy in the Face of Crisis." He argues that the global monetary order of national fiat currencies represents the greatest threat to globalization.

Monetary Policy as Globalization's Achilles' Heel

Global financial instability has sparked a surge in "monetary nationalism" -- the idea that countries must make and control their own currencies. But globalization and monetary nationalism are a dangerous combination, a cause of financial crises and geopolitical tension. The world needs to abandon unwanted currencies, replacing them with dollars, euros, and multinational currencies as yet unborn.

CFR's Benn Steil argues that other factors besides Sarbanes-Oxley contributed to financial flows away from the U.S.

Over the past two decades, another form of economic exchange besides imports and exports has risen to a level of vastly greater significance and political concern: the purchase and sale of financial assets across borders.