Currency Areas and International Monetary Reform at the Dawn of a New Century

The Asian crisis and the creation of the euro have jump-started once again discussion of exchange rate systems, currency areas, and international monetary reform. The role of power in the international monetary system is discussed and its relevance to analysis of the new euro area as an instigator of change in the power configuration of the system. The dollar, euro, and yen areas have achieved a high degree of price stability, but international efficiency is seriously undermined by exchange rate gyrations of these three currencies. The best path to international monetary reform leads through a new international currency called the INTOR based on a G-3 monetary union platform possibly linked to gold.