De Dollarization Efforts In Brics Nations

This undergraduate thesis examines the de-dollarization efforts in BRICS nations, emphasizing the geopolitical and economic impacts of reducing reliance on the US Dollar in favor of local currencies, particularly the Chinese Renminbi (RMB). It discusses the historical dominance of the US Dollar and its role as the leading international currency. The research highlights the BRICS alliance's initiatives to foster economic cooperation and reduce dependency on Western financial systems, especially the US Dollar. The thesis specifically examines the influence of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on the demand for the RMB, using an event study model to analyze data from 48 countries over 15 years. The study aims to quantify the shift in RMB demand following BRI participation, addressing the broader BRICS objective of de-dollarization. The findings suggest that the observed increase in RMB usage does not reflect economic or political inclinations that can be directly attributed to BRI membership. This analysis contributes to understanding the dynamics of currency internationalization amongst the ongoing debate of de-dollarization in emerging economies.

Existing scholarship has not systematically examined BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) as a rising power de-dollarization coalition, despite the group developing multiple de-dollarization initiatives to reduce currency risk and bypass US sanctions. To fill this gap, this study develops a 'Pathways to De-dollarization' framework and applies it to analyze the institutional and market mechanisms that BRICS countries have created at the BRICS, sub-BRICS, and BRICS Plus levels. This framework identifies the leaders and followers of the BRICS de-dollarization coalition, assesses its robustness, and discerns how BRICS mobilizes other stakeholders. The authors employ process tracing, content analysis, semi-structured interviews, archival research, and statistical analysis of quantitative market data to analyze BRICS activities during 2009-2021. They find that BRICS' coalitional de-dollarization initiatives have established critical infrastructure for a prospective alternative nondollar global financial system. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

The upcoming BRICS summit is just around the corner. The five BRICS nations are reportedly planning their own gold-based reserve currency. This rumor gains traction due to several events. Firstly, the world is currently undergoing structural changes. NATO's expansion towards the east and north in Europe continues, with Sweden currently on the agenda. Sweden boasts one of the largest gold reserves globally. An immediate consequence of NATO's eastward expansion is the military conflicts in Ukraine. Russia has been excluded from the SWIFT system. This exclusion means that Russian banks can no longer directly communicate with other international banks for cross-border transactions. Without access to the SWIFT network, Russia is cut off from most international payment and settlement systems. This could complicate trade with other countries and impact economic relationships. Such isolation could destabilize Russian financial markets and erode investor confidence. The exclusion from the SWIFT system is a serious measure and is to be understood as a political leverage. Thus, it's not surprising that the rumor about a potentially Yuan-backed new reserve currency is gaining momentum. Additionally, the evidently unsuccessful visit of American Secretary of State Blinken to China resulted in a sharp drop in the US dollar's value. China holds massive dollar reserves due to its trade surplus. However, the global economy is a complex network influenced by various actors and circumstances. In recent decades, the dominance of the US dollar as the world's reserve currency has played a significant role. The dollar has shaped the international trade landscape for many decades and profoundly influenced geopolitical relations. Yet, in recent years, new powers have risen, challenging the status quo. The BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - have gained increasing economic importance and are pushing for a reform of the international financial system. My book, "The US Dollar and the BRICS Challenge," aims to bring readers closer to the history of dollar dominance and the emerging BRICS nations as potential counterbalances. It should be seen as an attempt to shed light on current events in the world and help better understand ongoing upheavals and restructuring. The book delves into the backgrounds that have led to the power struggles of our time and offers insights into a possible future, analyzing the implications for the global economy. The various aspects of the topic are explored, starting from the historical events that led to the emergence of dollar dominance, all the way to the current efforts of the BRICS nations to break free from this dominance and strengthen their own positions. We will examine the roots of dollar dominance, covering key milestones from the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference to the abandonment of the gold standard in 1971. The crucial role of the United States as a superpower and its economic and political interests in maintaining dollar dominance will also be scrutinized. Another part of the book focuses on the BRICS nations and their rise as economic heavyweights. Each country is examined individually to analyze its specific economic, political, and social developments. While all five countries face different challenges and opportunities, they all strive to have their voices heard in the global economic order. Their efforts to build alternative currency and financial structures are also thoroughly examined. Furthermore, the conflicts and tensions between the US dollar and the BRICS nations are closely examined. I aim to illustrate how the United States defends its dominance in the world economy by all means and takes measures to preserve the dollar's status. Simultaneously, the BRICS nations are forming their own economic alliance and seeking ways to break free from dollar dependency.

The 1944 "Bretton Woods Agreement" gave birth to the new international financial system marked by the centrality of the US dollar which is a crucial pillar of the global power of the United States. Over the past eight decades, the asymmetry of the shrinking US economic weight in the world economy and growing dominant role of the dollar has become more and more glaring. The disadvantages of overreliance on the dollar have been keenly felt, especially by developing countries. The recent moves to weaponize the dollar and the payment clearance system have triggered another wave of reassessment by national states and enterprises of the role of the dollar and led to the hitherto most broad-based de-dollarization process covering from Southeast Asia to Latin America and the Middle East. De-dollarization has been incrementally taking place in different forms and led by BRICS and some commodity exporting countries. However, there are many challenges to meaningful de-dollarization. Overall, de-dollarization efforts, despite important progress, have been limited and partial. There has been progress in reducing overreliance on the dollar through foreign exchange reserve diversification and trade invoicing as evidenced by the decline in the dollar's share of allocated foreign exchange reserves and the increase of trade invoiced and transacted in currencies other than the dollar. However, on aspects requiring the deep financial market and wide network such as foreign exchange transactions, issuance of debt and payment clearance, the dollar's share has not suffered a decline. To reform the international financial system, the BRICS in particular should continue to take the lead in furthering the de-dollarization efforts.

As the BRICS bloc expands, efforts by BRICS policymakers to increase global use of non-dollar currencies—particularly the Chinese renminbi—are accelerating. Washington should take note of how frustrations with the dollar are helping enable the rise of the renminbi in emerging markets and motivating strategic partners like India to push for greater use of non-dollar currencies.

There is intense competition among emerging markets to capture their share of the global economy. This book addresses questions that are germane to accomplishing this goal. Most important to this end is the study and practice of international business and foreign trade.

Dollarization rates in the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) region are among the highest in the world, with adverse consequences for macroeconomic stability, monetary policy transmission, and financial sector development. Using dynamic panel data models, we find that foreign exchange deposits and loans in the CCA are mainly driven by volatile inflation and exchange rates, low financial depth, and asymmetric exchange rate policies biased toward depreciation. Although there is no unique formula for success, empirical studies and cross-country experiences suggest that credible monetary and exchange rate frameworks, low and stable inflation, and deep domestic financial markets are essential ingredients of any de-dollarization strategy. In implementation, policymakers need to consider proper sequencing of policies, effective communication as well as risks from potential financial disintermediation and instability, and/or capital flight.

Globalization, accelerated by information technologies, has increased the speed of business transactions and has reduced the distances between international businesses. This growth has transformed the realm of foreign investment in countries around the world, calling for a methodological approach to planning feasible capital investment proposals in general and foreign direct investment projects. Foreign Direct Investments: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is a vital reference source that explores the importance of global stocks to economic structures and explores the effects that these holdings have on the financial status of nations. It also provides a systems approach to investment projects in a globalized and open society. Highlighting a range of topics such as foreign direct investors, risk analysis, and sourcing strategies, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for business managers, executives, international companies, entrepreneurs, researchers, academicians, graduate students, policymakers, investors, and project managers.

This book discusses the economic and geopolitical effects of globalization from historical and institutional perspectives. While it has had unintended consequences, such as displacing developed countries' dominance of production markets, the overall benefits of globalization far outweigh the costs. Moak argues that leading developed nations should not fear globalization but, instead, make concerted efforts to promote it in order to keep the cost-benefit balance weighing in favor of economic enhancement and geopolitical stability. Having incurred huge private and public debts as well as a weak monetary policy posture, many developed nations have been unable to recovery from the 2008 financial crisis. Moreover, geopolitical tensions are rising due to the power rivalry between the United States, China, and Russia over a host issues, including trade imbalances and geopolitics. This book aims to provide stakeholders with the relevant and necessary information to hold an objective debate on globalization. Ultimately, this book is about globalization— what it is, how it impacts the global economy and polity, and why it is needed now more than any other time in human history.