Their Dollar, Everyone’s Problem: The Architecture of U.S. Dollar Dominance and Global Monetary Power with Kenneth Rogoff

You earn it in one currency. You spend it in one place. It feels local. Personal. Contained. 

But the system that determines how money actually behaves operates at a different level entirely. 

In this episode, host Marwa Abdou sits down with Kenneth Rogoff, Maurits C. Boas Professor of Economics at Harvard University and author of Our Dollar, Your Problem, to unpack the architecture of U.S. dollar dominance and what it means for the global economy. 

For decades, the U.S. dollar has functioned as the backbone of global finance. It anchors trade, shapes capital flows and influences borrowing costs far beyond U.S. borders. But that dominance is not static. 

Drawing on decades of research, Rogoff explains why the dollar’s influence persists, how it is evolving and where underlying vulnerabilities are beginning to surface. From rising U.S. debt and shifting interest rate dynamics to the growing use of financial sanctions and the emergence of competing systems, this conversation explores the forces quietly reshaping the global monetary order. 

This is not a story about the dollar disappearing. It’s a story about what happens when the system built around it begins to shift.

Links:
- Kenneth Rogoff, Harvard University
- “Our Dollar, Your Problem: An Insider's View of Seven Turbulent Decades of Global Finance, and the Road Ahead” - Yale University Press
- “The Curse of Cash” - Princeton University Press
- This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff
- "Exchange Arrangements Entering the 21st Century: Which Anchor Will Hold?" by Ethan Ilzetzki, Carmen M. Reinhart, and Kenneth S. Rogoff
- "Was It Real? The Exchange Rate-Interest Differential Relation over the Modern Floating-Rate Period" by Richard Meese and Kenneth Rogoff

What is Canada's Economy, Explained?

Canada’s Economy, Explained is the official podcast of the Business Data Lab at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, hosted by Senior Research Director Marwa Abdou.

Whether you’re a business leader, policymaker, or simply curious about the forces shaping our economy, this podcast brings you real-time data, sharp analysis, and conversations that matter. From workforce trends and inflation to trade, innovation, and inclusion, we unpack the stories behind the stats — with leading economists, industry voices, and fresh perspectives.

Timely. Insightful. Unfiltered. This is where Canada’s economy gets explained.