exchange rates for most currencies. The Second Amendment also abolished the official price of gold (the United States dollar was no longer tied to a specified gold price), and the requirement for the mandatory settlement in gold of accounts between member nations was terminated. The deemphasis of gold as a payment and reserve medium was accompanied by an increased role for IMF special drawing rights (SDRs) for these purposes. The SDR is an international reserve asset created by the IMF, which is allocated to member countries in proportion to their position in the organization's total assets (Chandavarkar, 1993, p. 80). Each country's position in the IMF is determined by its quota for financing the fund (Chandavarkar, 1993, p. 125). Quotas are agreed upon internationally. The quota must be paid to the IMF by each nation as follows: 25.0 percent in gold, and 75.0 percent in the nation's own currency. Both fund position and voting power with
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