The importance of emerging countries in international commodity trading for the last thirty years has transformed the international monetary system. Sizeable capital flows have shifted from developed to emerging countries, threatening financial stability. Imbalances in the balance of payments have been at the root of several financial crises and played a role in the 2008 crisis. Moreover, the monetary policy adopted by the central banks since 2009, particularly in the United States, has fueled fears of a currency war.
With the great currency game afoot in the fall of 2015, the Revue d’économie financière attempts to take stock of the current situation and put forward solutions. Is the dollar threatened? What is the relationship of forces? What institutional schemes are capable of guaranteeing international financial stability? These are among the questions that the authors – academics, bankers, and high-level government officials have looked at.
Besides this main subject, this issue offers two articles on different current economic and financial topics. One presents varying analyses of bank secrecy and its likely demise in offshore financial centers. The other raises the question of the credibility of central banks given their new practices that stem from the financial crisis.