The Almighty Dollar: Follow the Incredible Journey of a Single Dollar to See How the Global Economy Really Works

by Dharshini David

Have you ever wondered why we can afford to buy far more clothes than our grandparents ever could . . . but may be less likely to own a home in which to keep them all? Why your petrol bill can double in a matter of months, but it never falls as fast?

Behind all of this lies economics.

It’s not always easy to grasp the complex forces that are shaping our lives. But by following a dollar on its journey around the globe, we can start to piece it all together.

The dollar is the lifeblood of globalisation. Greenbacks, singles, bucks or dead presidents: call them what you will, they are keeping the global economy going. Half of the notes in circulation are actually outside of the USA – and many of the world’s dollars are owned by China.

But what is really happening as our cash moves around the world every day, and how does it affect our lives? By following $1 from a shopping trip in suburban Texas, via China’s central bank, Nigerian railroads, the oilfields of Iraq and beyond, The Almighty Dollar reveals the economic truths behind what we see on the news every day. Why is China the world’s biggest manufacturer – and the USA its biggest customer? Is free trade really a good thing? Why would a nation build a bridge on the other side of the planet?

In this illuminating read, economist Dharshini David lays bare these complex relationships to get to the heart of how our new globalised world works, showing who really holds the power, and what that means for us all.

“A brilliant book … everyone should buy it because it’s very, very readable” – Iain Dale, LBC

“Original and engaging … If you’ve ever wondered what globalisation is and why people get so passionate about it then I can think of no better guide. Economics can be fascinating and accessible. This book is proof” – Joel Hills, Business Editor, ITV News

‘Brilliantly revealing’ – Ian King, business presenter, Sky News, and Times columnist

‘Readable and illuminating’ – The Bookseller

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Politics, Finance, Business, Geography, History

256 pages, Hardcover

First published February 22, 2018

About the author

Dharshini David is an economist and broadcaster. From 2009 she fronted Sky News' daily financial coverage from the heart of the City, as well as co-presenting the channel's flagship Sky News Tonight programme. Before joining Sky, Dharshini advised Tesco's board on broadcast media. Prior to that, she was the face of the BBC's Wall Street coverage in New York, from where she presented a daily business show, and covered business, economics and consumer issues in London across the BBC, from the BBC1 Ten O'Clock News to Panorama and Radio 4's Today programme. Dharshini was recruited by the BBC while working on HSBC Investment Bank's trading floor as its UK Economist. This is her first book.

Reviews

[Emily Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s weird to admit that a book on economics was a page turner – but it really was. I could hardly put this down; every paragraph I was learning in an enjoyable and well-written way. Darshini is a gifted writer and teaches about the global economy’s interwoven complexities using relatable extended metaphors that make it a joy to read.
Highly recommend, especially for Gen Y and Z!

[Adam Yates · Rating 2 out of 5]

A hard slog of a book but I found a decent chunk of it interesting albeit very dense. I could survive an economics conversation now if I had to. But I fear all conversation anyway.

[Alastair · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book walks you through a dollar's journey from the USA all around the world and back to the USA. This entertaining gimmick is used by the author as a means of introducing and explaining numerous economic concepts (think: inflation, the trade deficit, productivity) while at the same time detailing how the dollar binds the global economy together in myriad ways. It is this textbook-esque discussion of economics for the lay person that comprises the bulk of the book - in short it is like a much more engaging and well-written introduction to global economic and financial issues and, as such, should be of interest to anyone looking to understand the world better.

Overall the book is extremely successful in describing in non-technical language economic concepts and, crucially, linking these to issues that people care about (the price of oil, the financial crash, the question of national debt). It goes on to make use of these ideas in other discussions meaning the book develops your understanding of, and ability to apply, the various terms and concepts it introduces - cementing them in your understanding. The book has helped me better follow financial news I've seen online or in newspapers - but it at no point felt like I was "taking a course" in economics or the like - rather I read this book on a plane when I was extremely tired and found it very engaging.

To the book's minor detriment, it can verge on preachy at times. Notably, in the final chapter, there is a slightly melodramatic recap on how the sustainability of our debt culture relies on ongoing growth and confidence and the author seems to want to draw a doom-and-gloom conclusion but bails at the last minute and the book abruptly ends instead. It meant that the book morphed from being an extremely readable quasi-textbook following the dollar's journey around the world to something of a pamphlet - railing about the dangers of capitalism. It all came as a bit of a shock and (whether the points are valid or not) did not fit with the tenor of the book at all. Perhaps this could have been mitigated by drawing out the author's worries regarding debt more clearly throughout the book.

Overall this book, despite minor issues in the final chapter, deserves to be read. I would particularly recommend for anyone who has a passing interest in economics but has not had the opportunity to engage with the field either at university or as part of their job. I look forward to reading more of Dharshini David's books: her style (particularly the creation of a narrative) is superb for what could be an otherwise dry and tedious subject.

[Florence Buchholz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tracing the United States dollar within the flow of goods and services from the point of a consumer purchase to the workings of the world economy is not a simple process. This book functions as an economic primer covering straightforward topics like supply and demand and more complex ones like international balance of payments and theoretically how a poor country can grow to join the global elite. It seems that the dollar is still the king of currencies. But for how much longer? You have to be a bit nerdy to read this stuff for pleasure.

These days many people are blaming the US President for high gasoline prices. Prices are determined by supply and demand complicated by many factors such as OPEC strategies, insurgencies, war, regulations, technology, and careful analysis of world events. Give the President a break.

I love the way this author explores topics without drawing political conclusions. Bravo. I do wish that this valuable little book had some charts and graphs to help illustrate complex theories.

[Ramil Kazımov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Güzel bir okumaydı..

Bir doların ABD'de bir WalMart mağazasından çıkarak ve neredeyse dünyayı dolaşarak sonunda yine nasıl ABD'ye geldiğini öğrenmiş olduk. Oldukça okunabilir ve harika bir kitabdı. Sonuncu bölümde 2008 krizinden konuşması da cabası.

Ekonomik konulara ilgi duyan herkese tavsiye edebileceğim ve okunaklı bir kitap 😎

[Alexis Something Rose moved to The StoryGraph · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars

This is an interesting look at the global economy and the interconnectedness of its key players.
At times, though, it felt like it was written with no specific audience in mind. I am not new to reading books like this one, but I am still not sure whether you need a background in Econ to read this book or you'll be fine if you're a layperson.
The book is full of facts and reasonable connections between them. And so it could be a good add-on to what you already know and understand about the global economy. But it is hardly an introduction into the topic.

[Padmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Descrizione del libro dal risvolto di copertina
Un reportage tra le macerie elettorali della sinistra, per capire dove sta andando l’Italia.
C’era una volta una terra in cui il centrodestra era condannato all’opposizione e il tempo era scandito al ritmo placido delle feste dell’Unità. Nessuno scandalo nazionale o burrasca elettorale sembrava importante, nessuna alternanza era prevista: che il partito si chiamasse Pci o Pds, Ds o Pd, poteva andare sul sicuro perché lì, si sa, “votano tutti a sinistra”. Poi un bel giorno tutto è cambiato. Alle elezioni del 2018 la cosiddetta “Toscana Rossa” ha perso nel giro di qualche mese i sindaci di Massa, Siena e Pisa, dove la Lega è cresciuta di quasi 25 punti percentuali in soli cinque anni. Nel 2019 si voterà a Livorno, finora amministrata dai Cinque stelle, e Firenze, banco di prova degli ultimi scampoli di renzismo. Intanto Susanna Ceccardi, giovane e agguerrita sindaca salviniana di Cascina, punta alle regionali del 2020, e c’è chi dice che rischia di vincerle. Partendo da Pisa e allargando lo sguardo alle macerie rosse di tutta la regione, David Allegranti costruisce una rigorosa e documentata analisi di questa sconfitta che è anche un reportage di viaggio nel paese reale, qui dove gli edicolanti vendono più “La Verità” del “Manifesto” e dove le vecchie sedi del Pd vengono dismesse e cedute alla rampante sezione locale della Lega, qui dove gli anziani si rifiutano di affittare agli immigrati, i vecchi sindacalisti Cgil si candidano con la Lega e i parroci si sentono gli ultimi a resistere all’assalto, asserragliati nelle mense della Caritas sotto continuo attacco degli assessori leghisti. Perché il cambiamento non si ferma allo stile comunicativo di Salvini e non è nato dal nulla: è figlio della stanchezza e del senso di abbandono della gente, dei circoli Arci deserti che negli anni hanno perso la comunità che li animava. Solo attraversando questa terra risvegliata da un torpore lungo cinquant’anni si può capire che cosa sta succedendo davvero a questo Paese.

Abitando al confine tra le province di Livorno e Pisa, sono stata particolarmente interessata da questo libro. Interessata, ma non stupita, conoscendo piuttosto bene le dinamiche che si muovono tra i miei compaesani.
Non c'è -né credo potesse esserci- una conclusione alla domanda posta dal titolo. Si diventa leghisti per tante ragioni e in tanti modi. Paradossalmente si diventa leghisti persino senza essere leghisti.
Qui una bella intervista con l'autore (e con uno strepitoso Giulianone Ferrara).
https://www.radioradicale.it/scheda/5...

[SB · Rating 2 out of 5]

The content is interesting, but the writing style is poor! I think the author could have explained things in simpler and more interesting terms. Hopefully, someone can suggest a better book on this topic?

Below are the most interesting points made in the book (NB: I gave up around 100 pages into the book.)

-"Giant retailers now sell cheap radios to communities in the Rust Belt (themselves former producers of goods). Now that these industries have been priced out of existence, the people who once worked in them may find themselves more dependent on low-cost retailers such as Walmart to make ends meet. [Ironically] this is due partly, to Walmart's preference for chasing bargains in other other countries," showing how the replacement of previously industrial regions by cheaper labour abroad causes a vicious cycle of dependency, with consumers now reliant on lower prices because of the lack of employment; something which precipitated their joblessness in the first place.
-Globalisation is a zero-sum game with a lot of collateral damage (read: 2008 financial crisis). After deep depressions and crises, the trend of globalisation tends to reverse, with many states becoming more insular and with "the tide turning back towards nationalism and isolation [or] smaller trade pacts with your nearest and/or dearest, rather than a free (trade) for all. Domestic politics and the global economy are on a collision course."

An example of the terrible prose of the book follows; when talking about the dollar Dharshini talks of how:

The dollar is "the common global financial lingo, the standard currency of invoicing for trade and investment. It's value is easy to understand; reliable, easy to use... it's the steadfast boy-next-door intermediary in this courtship between two less established but in many ways more exciting [currencies].

A more concise sentence would have done the job (and probably been paid in dollars for it- badum bum!)

[Lo Scaffale Imbarcato · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il titolo del libro è anche la domanda che fa da sfondo a tutti i capitoli: come si diventa leghisti? Ovvero: com'è possibile che roccaforti da sempre "rosse" (come Pisa, oggetto principale dell'indagine, oppure Livorno e Siena) si siano trasformate a tal punto da eleggere amministratori di destra (sempre che di "destra" si possa parlare)? Spoiler: non c'è una risposta univoca. Di sicuro c'è il contributo (in negativo) di ciò che resta della sinistra: un partito, il PD, impegnato a cannibalizzare se stesso più che a dare soluzioni ai problemi del territorio. Un territorio in cui la Lega si è incuneata facendo "politica" nel senso tradizionale del termine, e facendo ciò che la sinistra non fa più da tempo: ascoltare le persone comuni e fare proposte. Per completare il vittorioso quadro, si aggiungano il tracimante carisma social di Salvini e la facile identificazione di un nemico sociale (l'immigrato, il rom) e istituzionale (le tasse, l'Europa, l'euro, l'élite burocratica). Ho letto questo libro alla ricerca di risposte ai miei dubbi, alle mie perplessità e paure, ma alla fine mi resta il gusto amaro dell'impotenza di fronte a un mondo e a una società che vedo sempre più allontanarsi dalla mia umanità, e mi sento più solo di fronte alle mie convinzioni e alle mie idee.

[Ahmed Anwer · Rating 3 out of 5]

قتصاديات الدول" هو كتاب رائع يستحق القراءة. يقدم الكتاب رحلة شيقة ومثيرة في عالم الاقتصاد وتأثير الدولار على الدول والاقتصادات. أحببت في الكتاب طريقة كتابته السلسة والمنهجية. يتناول الكتاب مواضيع هامة مثل سطوة الدولار وتأثيره على الاقتصاد العالمي، والعلاقات الاقتصادية بين الدول، ودور الدولار في السياسة العالمية. كما يستعرض بشكل موسع تاريخ العملات العالمية وكيف تطور النظام المالي العالمي. تقدم الكتاب معلومات قيمة ومحدثة، مدعومة بدراسات وأمثلة واقعية. يعرض الكتاب حقائق مثيرة ومثبتة علميًا حول النظام المالي الدولاري وتأثيره على الاقتصادات الوطنية والعلاقات الاقتصادية بين البلدان. أعجبني في الكتاب أيضًا أسلوب الكاتب في توصيل المعلومات. يستخدم لغة سهلة الفهم وأمثلة واضحة لشرح المفاهيم الاقتصادية المعقدة. كما أن الكتاب يتعقب التغيرات الاقتصادية الراهنة ويشرح كيف يمكن للدول التعامل معها بطريقة فعالة. لا يقدم الكتاب فقط المعلومات النظرية، بل يقدم أيضًا توجيهات واقتراحات حول كيفية تحقيق الاستقرار الاقتصادي والحفاظ على قوة الدولة في وجه التحديات الاقتصادية الحالية. بصفة عامة، أنصح بقراءة كتاب "سطوة الدولار ورحلة بين اقتصاديات الدول" لأي شخص مهتم بالاقتصاد والسياسة العالمية. يقدم الكتاب رؤية شاملة ومفصلة للنظام المالي العالمي وكيف يؤثر الدولار فيه، ويعطي قراءه عميقه للقوى الاقتصادية الكبرى والتحديات التي تواجهها الدول في الاقتصاد

[Ahmed Faiq · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب مهم وممتع، رحلة الدولار حول العالم، وسطوته على الاقتصاد العالمي، كل ذلك في كتاب من حوالي 200 صفحة.

الكتاب هو في الحقيقة شرح لطريقة عمل الاقتصاد العالمي في عصر العولمة وكيفية ترابط اقتصادات العالم مع بعضها البعض، وخاصة اللاعبين الكبار مثل امريكا والصين واليابان والاتحاد الاوروبي .

يأتي مضمون الكتاب من خلال قصة دولار واحد خيالي تستخدمه سيدة امريكية في شراء جهاز راديو صيني الصنع، لينتقل الدولار الى الصين وتبدأ رحلته حول العالم من خلال عدة عمليات شراء وقروض وغيرها، ليظهر التداخل والترابط في هذا العالم .

كانت الترجمة لا بأس بها، اعطت حق الكتاب والمادة العلمية غير السهلة، فكل على كل، كانت قراءة الكتاب تجربة ناجحة.

[Michael Potts · Rating 4 out of 5]

+ Informative, top-level, broad brush strokes about key processes involved in the global economy (which should be compulsory to learn about in school - but aren't!). The structure of following the journey of a dollar around the world worked well. Enjoyed dipping into different countries' situations, strengths and weaknesses, like a Prisoners of Geography with a heavier focus on economics.

- What is the problem with this book? Starting lots of paragraphs with a question became oddly irritating after a while. Also, would appreciate a graph or ten throughout.

= Solid, concise primer. Relatively user-friendly, engaging way to describe a lot of hugely important, yet often fairly tedious, processes without wanting to bleach your eyeballs by the end of it.

[Sharof Hamroh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

[Charles Roadnight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enlightening! Helped me to understand a lot more the types of decisions our governments are having to make.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Money makes the world go round, supposedly. It doesn’t, that is physics. However, it has become the lifeblood of our modern world. Each day vast quantities of money flow back and forth around the world as city traders and more often than not now days, computers try and get that edge to squeeze that profit from each transaction. The majority of the money that flows from country to country each day is dollars. The greenback has become the global currency.

But how did the dollar reach this point? Why do prices keep going up? How come we have more disposable income than previous generations and yet can’t afford a house? To answer these questions and many others, economist Dharshini David, follows the path of a single dollar from the moment it is spent in a superstore in America to its part in the growing Chinese economy. From there we will follow it to Africa, India, the Middle East and Europe before it wends its way back to its home country. Each transaction is used to show how the money moves across the world, being part of legitimate and sometimes not so legal transactions.

Through this fictionalised account of a single dollar (and a guest appearance by the Euro), David is able to show where and how the money has pure power and leverage, where people are struggling to survive and where the people are that have more money than they can ever spend. Our interlinked global system has lots of positive benefits, but there are many negative ones too. Because of this close linking of economies, if there is a crash, then there is a domino effect as a collapse in one part of the global economy is rapidly transmitted around the world to other vulnerable states.

Even though economics affects every one of us on the planet to a greater or lesser extent, most people tend to ignore it; it is not called the dismal science for no reason at all. This book is a way of trying to get people to see that it is important and that a lot of the principles are fairly straightforward to understand. It helps because of David’s writing, but the idea of following that single dollar works really well. Overall I liked this book, it doesn’t go into much depth, but that is not really going to happen in a book this short. However, if you feel the need to read more about the subject, then a reading list has been provided.

[Serhat · Rating 4 out of 5]

herkesin temel düzeyde de olsa finans bilgisine sahip olması gerekiyor. özellikle de türkiye gibi siyasete angaje olmak zorunda bırakılan halkların ihtiyacı var. hükümetin ya da diğer bürokratların veya tv kanallarında karşılaştığımız “uzman”ların her gün ekonomik gelişmelerle ilgili görüşlerini dinlemek zorunda kalıyoruz. burada söylenen milyon adet şeyin hangisinin doğru olduğunu anlamamız biraz mesai istiyor. herkesin hemfikir olduğu görüşler de değil maalesef. birisi “faiz sebep, enflasyon sonuç” gibi bir açıklama yapıyor örneğin. aslında faizlerin artmasının ya da azalmasının etkilerini bilecek kadar finans bilgisine sahip olsak, bunun gibi açıklamaların doğruluğunu kendimiz de teyit edebiliriz.

bu kitapta da bu temel finans bilgisine ek olarak, dolar’ın dünya üzerindeki yolculuğu, yani uluslararası ticareti de eklemiş yazar. bunu yaparken de tarihi bilgilerle, ekonomik teorilerle ve istatistiklerle ana temayı zenginleştirmiş. finansal hareketlerin sonuçlarını ya da krizlerin nedenlerini görebiliyoruz. big short filmini izleyenler bilir, film devam ederken araya kamu spotu gibi finansal terimlerin açıklamaları giriyordu. selena gomez ve margot robbie gibi filmde yer almayan ünlülere yaptırılmıştı bu açıklamalar. tabii bu kitapta hem teknolojik olarak bu mümkün değil hem de prodüksiyon maliyeti bi’ hayli artardı. :) bunun yerine kitap kendi hikayesini anlatırken finansa dair bilmemiz gerekenleri de bu hikayenin bir parçası yapmış.

özellikle bu kitabın okunmasını değil ama bu anlamda bir kitabın herkes tarafından okunması gerekli. hem bireysel yatırımlarında daha isabetli kararlar vermek için, hem de yöneticilerin başarılı olup olmadığını anlamak için finansal okur-yazarlığını artırmaktan başka çaremiz yok. aksi takdirde dünyada geçerliliği olmayan uygulamalarla iyi yönetildiğinizi zannederken, dünyanın gözünde gülünç ve acınası bir ekonomik yönetim sebebiyle gün geçtikçe yoksullaşmaya devam edersiniz.

[Edward Hilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read and well worth it if you are looking for a introduction into the workings of global economy. It covers off on topics such as:

- the nature of the globalised economy and the role that different countries at different stages of economic and industrial development (USA vs China, and India for example) play in it.

- the role of the USD in the global economy, and the enormous benefits America receives as a result.

- China's strategy to increase its influence and power globally via funding/investing in the development of the 3rd world countries.

- the role of oil in the global economy. And the workings of the market for it and other commodities.

- Russia and its arms dealings.

- Stock markets, and the GFC.

It is very accessible, and the concept for the book: following a USD around the world as it moves from one transaction to the next, creates an interesting and fun narrative to wrap up the learning that the book offers.

It also offers some interesting insights into the dynamics around the military conflicts and strategic frictions that have characterised the 21st Century.

[Kumail Akbar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book as pretty much a segue way / placeholder between different reads, coming in with low expectations about the quality of writing on the engaging nature of the narrative, but expecting a much more complex and quantitative / analytical work. It is easy to see for any layman how a global economy that ‘catches a cold every time America sneezes’ is kept running by the circulation of dollars. Global exports and imports, exchange rates, asset prices, and other economic and financial measures are all detailed in US dollar for good reasons. People who are better informed about economic history or modern finance know all of what is presented in this book, and even more.

This makes me wonder who or what the intended audience of this book was meant to be? Better informed people could have benefited from a more thorough analysis breaking down trade to components, subcomponents, as well as the role of intellectual property and global lending in circulating dollars from their point of origin, to across the planet and then likely back. What we have here instead read like a book meant to wow pre-teens or teenagers who have just begun to explore how the world works. This book may even work for an incredibly nerdy parent who wants to read their children, a night time book about ‘the Almighty Dollar’ which rises up and goes around the world which is wow so mystical so cool. If this is found in a coffee lounge or an airport terminal and you have absolutely nothing else to read or do, then sure go ahead and read this one. Otherwise, pretty much a waste of time.

Rating 2 of 5 stars

[Isla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well the last couple chapters honestly eluded me a bit, the technical economic stuff was lost on me for a while. But generally, I thought this was written in a really accessible way and it was definitely worth reading for my geography course! I also thought that the way this was structured was particularly nice and interesting to follow, and the book covered a lot of areas in a concise manner, but not in a way that felt like areas were cut short.

[Sebastian Pintilie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interestingly written book showcasing quite a lot of concepts about economics. Unfortunately, some of them ended up not being explained as much as I would have liked them to, especially the parts about fiscal and monetary policy, as well as quantitative easing; the other parts were easier only thanks to some previous knowledge. Overall, this book could have benefitted from being longer, but I still learned a few new things.

[Deepthi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Dharshini David does a fantastic job simplifying the workings of our global economy through the journey of a single dollar around the world. Economic concepts spruced with history lessons make the narrative engaging. Good read.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright.... another geo book. This one was good, lots of good info. Solid bit of writing here

[Harry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapter One: USA
For basically everyone on the planet the dollar is the ubiquitous global currency that is used as the baseline across the world but it was interesting to learn about that history behind it and how it was really WW2 that started its journey and the collapse of the Soviet Union that cemented its place. I particularly enjoyed the section about the loss of traditional manufacturing businesses and the effect that has had on rural communities in America. It's a tragedy really how the workers in these industries were just abandoned as companies moved their manufacturing hubs abroad.

Chapter Two: China
China is one the most fascinating success stories in modern economic history, no matter your disposition to the country no-one can argue with its results (the morality on the other hand). I would say the chapter slightly underplays the risk of China holding such a large amount of US debt in the form of its bonds, I do have the advantage of another 8 years of hindsight but the idea that American debt will always be in high demand is less strong now. The fact they could get away with a fixed exchange rate really highlights how much the government abused their less democratic system, ultimately they were able to rig the game at the expense of the rest of the world but also their own population, the Chinese government would argue its in the interest of the long term prosperity of the nation but I’m not sure the everyday citizen would agree. However those closer to the top are starting to be able to afford a more affluent lifestyle which has coincided with China starting to shift away from manufacturing to more technological based industries and is highlighting that in terms of services (entertainment, financial services) the USA does hold some power.

Chapter Three: Nigeria
Trade vs Aid is a pretty common argument within economic circles and Nigeria highlights these points pretty well showing the positives and negatives of both sides. China’s huge foreign direct investment (FDI) into Nigeria definitely isn’t pure benevolence from them and was largely driven by their desire for cheaper natural resources like oil but equally the wider Nigeria could have still benefited if the governments were a bit more stable. The soft power point is also prescient to today, China’s belts and roads initiative has given them huge amounts of leverage which they can “cash” in as other Western nations are cost cutting their foreign aid. There can be little argument that this aid has a more positive immediate impact for the lives of everyday Nigerian’s however I do understand the need for a country to learn to be sustainable and not dependent upon the aid. Again Nigeria’s attempt to control its exchange rate wasn’t successful due to the lack of government control compared to China which meant Black markets became commonplace and made the restrictions less relevant (if not completely irrelevant)

Chapter Four: India

It is a fair and reasonable point that logic should dictate that a country that has the ability to be self-sustainable in food should be very well placed but this chapter breaks down why this isn’t necessarily the case for India. It is beholden to the weather in a big way which can make or break the harvest levels, it also struggles with productivity, the farms are usually very small and therefore cannot benefit from economies of scale and also there are storage issues. However India has been able to specialise in exporting technology services, namely call centres and handling the IT needs of businesses across the world, this is an example of understanding your population demographic, India has a significant amount of young people who were able to be trained quickly to work in an up and coming area. They also benefited from a huge rolling back of regulation which encouraged large international businesses to invest in India. This has fuelled inequality however and the country doesn’t currently have the infrastructure to support its growth.

Chapter Five: Oil

The common phrase is that money makes the world go round but in reality oil makes the world go round would probably be more accurate. This chapter is particularly relevant today given the US’s conflict with Iran. The worldwide consumption of oil is only growing and therefore the countries that can control the supply have excess levels of power and influence. It’s another example of where the US dollar was able to successfully integrate itself with a landmark deal with Saudi Arabia in the 1970’s which essentially agreed that the dollar would be the currency used in all transactions of oil. The futures market is also a place that people will know much about and yet it has a huge effect on our lives, it’s driven by pure speculation and I do worry that it could be corrupted by nefarious actors. I didn’t realise that the power of OPEC had been reduced over the years but it is logical, it’s a large example of the prisoners dilemma where the best scenario for the group is to agree to the quotas to keep prices stable but the benefit is greater for an individual country that doesn’t follow the rules, given that the countries have such a wide variety of beliefs outside and their production of oil is really their only similarity. Ultimately though it’s a ticking clock, oil is a finite resource and one we are running out of fast, alternatives need to be found otherwise it could see a profound shift in all our lives.

Chapter 6: Russia

It’s interesting reading this chapter after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 because a lot of the problems that the Russian economy faced in the past are the same that they face in the present but the rise of more authoritarian governments and countries that are more friendly to Russia has offset the effect of sanctions somewhat, it’s important to remember the context that I will always view any analysis of Russia’s economy through a Western and therefore Capitalist perspective but it really does seem that Communism and the failure of the Soviet Union is what created the seemingly permanent hysteresis that means the dollar is so dominant. Not everyone suffered though, the section about how Oligarchs bought up the key Russian utilities and therefore cemented themselves as million/billionaires is fascinating especially with the extra context of how Putin initially based his premiership on opposition to this vs how he sees them today

Chapter 7: Germany

Germany’s economic fortunes have been pretty turbulent over the past 100 years with some big highs and real lows. It’s impressive how the country was able to bounce back after World War 2 and found a way to differentiate itself through manufacturing prowess and a push for productivity and efficiency with German products becoming synonymous with quality. That been said the adoption of the Euro was not nearly as smooth, it’s difficult to argue against the success of the Single Market, while it definitely wasn’t perfect and could have done with some more tweaks the boom in trade that members experienced cannot be ignored but the Eurozone was probably a step too far. Ultimately without the intention to fully commit (e.g. having a single tax policy etc like the US) it’s left in a position where the negatives are exacerbated and the benefits not as strong. Migration plays a big role in this chapter especially Germany opening its borders in 2015, migration is probably the biggest talking point in politics today but there’s no easy answers, for a country to support a “super ageing” population with a falling birth rate it needs tax payers from somewhere. But because of the time lag of migrants integrating into the country and the spotlight when it goes wrong that economic point is often lost as the “native” population has genuine fears that are difficult to reconcile.

Chapter 8: United Kingdom

This was probably my favourite chapter of the book as it’s the one that was most relevant to me being from the U.K. It was interesting to learn about the history of why the U.K. was able to gain such a competitive advantage in the financial services sector because of the deregulation as well as relitigating the Brexit argument and going over the problems that the vote caused not only for the population but also the businesses as well. The section about the financial crash is just so frustrating for so many reasons if you had to pick one event that permanently severed most people’s trust in the system it would be that, the banks made huge mistakes and it was the taxpayer that bailed them out which led to a decade plus of lot growth

Chapter Nine: Summary

This final chapter really brought everything together, analysing how the plight of this hypothetical dollar has touched the lives of millions across so many countries. It then goes into really interesting and quite scary questions about what will happen if this cycle doesn’t continue. Specifically it looks at the problems of stagflation where inflation is high and growth is low as well as the productivity problem which is shattering the perceived wisdom that growth will lead to higher wages which increases spending which increases growth etc. More and more appears to be syphoned from the system and the government’s blunt instruments of fiscal and monetary policy don’t appear to be as effective as they once were.

[Emily Sykes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I struggled to get to grips with how economics works and so found it a bit dull. Despite this, there were a few interesting points that gave me some ideas:

•Germany opened its boarders in 2015 and research found that on average, immigrants paid $4127 more in taxes and social security than they took in benefits, creating a surplus of $22 billion for the economy that year. I think this is really significant because it shows that immigrants don't just "steal" jobs/houses/benefits which seems to be a massive misconception. (Although, Germany is at Stage 5 in the DTM so need people to fill jobs to provide for the aging population - not sure how much of a difference this makes?)

•Nigeria is a perfect example of how economic growth doesn't always benefit everyone. It has the largest GDP in Africa and the 21st largest economy in the world. Yet, over 100 million people (60%) live in extreme poverty, on less than $1 per day and over 25% of the population can't access clean water. Life expectancy is only 53 years. One big factor towards this is colonialism: Nigeria only gained independence in 1967. This led to a series of civil wars and dictatorships in the 70s, and corruption for long after, slowing development. Maybe the UK needs to do more to fix the damage we caused??

•Finally, is the quaternary sector an important contributor to a country's development? Thanks to its success in the IT industry, India is the fastest developing country in the world, with the average wage trippling since 2000. Therefore standard of living must have improved significantly but the richest 1% own 50% of the country's wealth (which I personally think is shocking). This suggests maybe nothing has improved for the majority - whilst the growth in IT is admirable, if many still can't access education how can they get a job in that sector?? Perhaps the country needs to focus on development in other industries too so people have options; I suspect that the gap between the poor and rich will continue to grow if the focus remains solely on tech companies.

Those notes were only for my benefit - I'm not expecting anyone else to read my ramblings!

[Dhruv Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful read. Dharshini David does a great job of simplifying the most complex concepts of economics. I followed a dollar across the globe and felt like I was living through every moment of it. If you want to learn something about how the Modern world works, this is a great book to source that knowledge from. This will also be a pleasant read for anyone working in FX or Rates.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another great find from my local book shop. It was published in 2018 so no COVID analysis in it.

The book examines the trip around the world of US$1. As the dollar arrives at each new international destination a new economic concept is examined with a case study used to explain the concept in reality. It does not read like a text book, and has a bit of economic history included here and there. Countries covered include: the US, China, Nigeria, India, Iraq, Russia, Germany and the UK.

[Demilade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It really shows how the world economy is intricately linked and how the fortunes of so many countries are pinned on the power of the dollar and the spending habits of Americans. It made me wonder about the resource curse of resource-rich countries and made me wonder if it really has to be a curse. A really delightful book with some technical economics terms nicely explained. It's a crash course in world trade and economics. Loved it.

[Giuseppe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mi ha mostrato un giro economico e finanziario che davvero non mi aspettavo esistesse, a partire da un piccolo esempio come la spesa. Un libro che si legge a doppia velocità, alcuni capitoli scritti in modo molto leggibili e altri meno ma un libro che tratta di economia mondiale (con tutti i suoi sottoelementi) non può essere da meno. Lo consiglierei solo ad un appassionato del genere.

Questo libro mi è stato consigliato da ImenJane.

[Olivia Gribble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible way of using everyday anecdotes to explain such complex economic theories and models. I have read this alongside my a level course and it’s helped to contextualise my knowledge. Thoroughly enjoyed this book, and hope there’s a sequel including the economic damage caused by coronavirus to come in the next few years!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a couple of dull sections, presumably aimed at economists rather than Geographers, but overall this is a well-written & wholesome book that offers a great insight into and overview of globalisation.