The SDRs, a new form of international reserve assets, were designed by the IMF in 1969, to take over the dollar’s role as a world reserve currency when needed. Soon after the fall of Lehman late 2008, the United Nations called for ‘a new Global Reserve System’ based on SDRs.

Such a new Global Reserve System–what may be viewed as a greatly expanded use of SDRs, with regular or cyclically adjusted emissions calibrated to the size of reserve accumulations–could contribute to global stability, economic strength, and global equity, according to the UN.