The Return of the SDR: the future of the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Right

​This study group will explore the future of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Special Drawing Right (SDR). The SDR instrument was established in 1968 to reinforce the Bretton Woods international monetary system. IMF members agreed to issue SDR on the eve of the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1971 and again in the late 1970s. For the next three decades the SDR was in deep freeze.  In response to the global financial crisis in 2009, the IMF issued $250 billion SDR. In response to the corona virus pandemic, the IMF is about to issue another $650 billion SDR.  This study group will review the mechanics and history of the SDR, consider the arguments for and against issuing SDR, and speculate whether the instrument has a robust future, and if so, what that future might be.