Is the US Dollar Losing Its Dominance?

Is the US Dollar Losing Its Dominance?

May 19, 2026 · 48 min · Season 1 · Episode 16

About this episode

The episode explores whether the U.S. dollar is losing its dominance in global finance through a discussion with economist Peter C. Earle.

In this episode of The Economist Next Door , economist Paul Mueller sits down with AIER Senior Research Fellow Peter C. Earle to explore one of the biggest questions in global finance: Is the U.S. dollar losing its dominance? Drawing on Earle's extensive research into dollarization and international monetary systems, the conversation examines how the dollar became the world's reserve currency, why it remains central to global trade and finance, and what growing efforts to bypass the dollar could mean for America and the world. From the hidden advantages Americans enjoy under dollar dominance to the rise of alternative payment systems and growing efforts to bypass the dollar, Paul and Pete explore how sanctions, Federal Reserve policy, mounting U.S. debt, and technological change are reshaping the global financial order — and what it could mean for America's economic future. Is the dollar's dominance truly fading or simply evolving? Listen and find out!

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