Limited access Past event
Department of Economics Seminar with Dr Sara Eugeni, Durham University Silicon Valley and the Greenback: Does US Innovation Fuel the Dollar's Global Dominance?
Abstract: We explore the role of innovation in explaining the enduring dominance of the US dollar as an international store of value. Specifically, we investigate whether the currency composition of foreign exchange reserves is influenced by patenting activities in the US and other countries. Firstly, we find that an increase in high-quality patent applications in a country leads to a rise in the global share of its currency in central banks' portfolios. Second, using an innovation index based on patent value, we show that US innovation is a global factor affecting the management of foreign exchange reserves alongside country-specific factors such as currency pegs, the currency of invoicing etc. Given the recent surge in high-value inventive activities in the United States, our results suggest that innovation will keep propelling the role of the dollar in the international monetary system.