New Books Network Photis Lysandrou, "Dollar Dominance: Why It Rules the Global Economy and How to Challenge It" (Policy Press, 2025)
May 13, 2026
Photis Lysandrou, research professor and co-director at City University’s Political Economy Research Center, explains why the U.S. dollar keeps its global edge. He traces how crises push investors into dollar safety. He describes the shift from trade-based to finance-based dominance and what Europe and emerging markets would need to mount a challenge.
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Crisis Driven Flight To Dollar Safety
- Global crises drive a flight to safety that strengthens the dollar through big international financial flows.
- Photis Lysandrou shows post-2008, COVID and 2022 Ukraine war spikes pulled funds into dollar assets, reinforcing its dominance.
Dollar Dominance Comes From Capital Market Mass
- Dollar dominance has shifted from trade/production to financial capital markets as the core foundation.
- Lysandrou cites US command of ~45% of world equity and bond stocks, making financial market share the decisive factor.
Homogenous Dollar Market Attracts Big Investors
- The US capital market's attractiveness rests on size, liquidity and homogeneity under one currency.
- Lysandrou explains homogeneity means all US securities share dollar denomination and common legal frameworks, easing large institutional flows.
