Could the IMF's 'world currency' help encourage global unity? | Mohamed El-Erian

Amid the rise of populism and nationalism, some are asking if revamping the SDR could re-energise multilateralism

The rise of anti-globalisation political movements and the threat of trade protectionism have led some people to wonder whether a stronger multilateral core for the world economy would reduce the risk of damaging fragmentation. After all, lest we forget, the current arrangements - as pressured as they are - reflected our post-world war two forebears' strong desire to minimise the risk of "beggar-thy-neighbour" national policies, which had crippled growth, prosperity and global stability in the 1930s.

Similar considerations fuelled the launch, nearly 50 years ago, of the International Monetary Fund's special drawing right as the precursor to a global currency. And with renewed interest in the stability of the international monetary system, some are asking - including within the IMF - whether revamping the SDR could be part of an effective effort to re-energise multilateralism.

Related: Whatever the IMF thinks, we are a long way from the boom time of 2007 | Larry Elliott