Brother, Can You Spare a Billion?

Conventional wisdom says that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) functions as the de facto international lender of last resort (ILLR) for the global financial system. However, that premise is incomplete. Brother, Can You Spare a Billion? explores how the U.S. has for decades regularly complemented the Fund's ILLR role by selectively providing billions of dollars in emergency loans to foreign economies in crisis. Why would the U.S. ever put nationalfinancial resources at risk to "bail out" foreign countries? McDowell argues that the U.S. has been compelled to provide such rescues unilaterally when it believes the IMF's multilateral response is too slow or toosmall to protect vital U.S. economic interests. Through a combination of historical case studies and statistical analysis, McDowell uncovers the defensive motives behind U.S. decisions to provide global liquidity from the 1960s through the 2008 global financial crisis. Moving beyond conventional wisdom, this book paints a complete picture of how international financial crises have been managed and highlights the unique role the U.S. has played in stabilizing the world economy in troubled times.

“"Brother, Can You Spare a Billion? is a compelling analysis of American international financial policy, and of its implications for the world economy. It will be of great interest to scholars and others concerned about the functioning and stability of today's globe-straddling financial markets."-Jeffry Frieden, Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School, and author of Currency Politics: The Political Economy of Exchange Rate Policy "This is a terrific book that should be read by anyone with an interest in how the global monetary system really works. With meticulous research, Daniel McDowell offers clear and convincing insight into the central role played by the United States, alongside the International Monetary Fund, in the management of international financial crises."- Benjamin J. Cohen, Louis G. Lancaster Professor of International Political Economy, University of California at Santa Barbara "This book is MUST-READ for anyone interested in the political economy of international financial stabilization. The U.S. has a long history of bailing out other nations, sometimes in conjunction with the IMF and sometimes independently. Daniel McDowell surveys this history from a geopolitical perspective, arguing that the U.S. only steps in when its vital national interests are at stake and the IMF is too slow-moving and limited in its response. McDowell builds a very strong case for this argument, with evidence drawn from primary source materials, official transcripts, and statistical analyses."- J. Lawrence Broz, Professor of Political Science, University of California, San Diego "The book offers novel insights into the unique role that the United States has played in stabilizing international financial crises, while also shedding light on the limitations of the IMF to act as an ILLR. McDowell's writing style is clear and easy to comprehend for both experts and nonexperts alike, and the book's rich case studies help provide useful context to key findings discovered in the statistical analyses." - Perspectives on Politics”

"Brother, Can You Spare a Billion? is a compelling analysis of American international financial policy, and of its implications for the world economy. It will be of great interest to scholars and others concerned about the functioning and stability of today's globe-straddling financial markets."-Jeffry Frieden, Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School, and author of Currency Politics: The Political Economy of Exchange Rate Policy"This is a terrific book that should be read by anyone with an interest in how the global monetary system really works. With meticulous research, Daniel McDowell offers clear and convincing insight into the central role played by the United States, alongside the International Monetary Fund, in the management of international financial crises."- Benjamin J. Cohen, Louis G. Lancaster Professor of International Political Economy, University of California at SantaBarbara"This book is MUST-READ for anyone interested in the political economy of international financial stabilization. The U.S. has a long history of bailing out other nations, sometimes in conjunction with the IMF and sometimes independently. Daniel McDowell surveys this history from a geopolitical perspective, arguing that the U.S. only steps in when its vital national interests are at stake and the IMF is too slow-moving and limited in its response. McDowellbuilds a very strong case for this argument, with evidence drawn from primary source materials, official transcripts, and statistical analyses."- J. Lawrence Broz, Professor of Political Science,University of California, San Diego"The book offers novel insights into the unique role that the United States has played in stabilizing international financial crises, while also shedding light on the limitations of the IMF to act as an ILLR. McDowell's writing style is clear and easy to comprehend for both experts and nonexperts alike, and the book's rich case studies help provide useful context to key findings discovered in the statistical analyses." - Perspectives on Politics

Daniel McDowell is Associate Professor of Political Science at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. His work has been published in International Studies Quarterly, Review of International Organizations, and New Political Economy.

Conventional wisdom says that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) functions as the de facto international lender of last resort (ILLR) for the global financial system. However, that premise is incomplete. Brother, Can You Spare a Billion? explores how the U.S. has for decades regularly complemented the Fund's ILLR role by selectively providing billions of dollars in emergency loans to foreign economies in crisis. Why would the U.S. ever put nationalfinancial resources at risk to "bail out" foreign countries? McDowell argues that the U.S. has been compelled to provide such rescues unilaterally when it believes the IMF's multilateral response is too slow or too small to protect vital U.S. economic interests. Through a combination of historical case studies andstatistical analysis, McDowell uncovers the defensive motives behind U.S. decisions to provide global liquidity from the 1960s through the 2008 global financial crisis. Moving beyond conventional wisdom, this book paints a complete picture of how international financial crises have been managed and highlights the unique role the U.S. has played in stabilizing the world economy in troubled times.

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