The Dollarization Debate

This book takes a global approach, with an emphasis on North and Latin America respectfully, by discussing one of today's most controversial topics in business; Dollarization. With the collapse of the former Soviet Union, and the formation of the Euro in Europe, many countries and debating whether or not a common currency is in their best interest. This intriguing volume brings together the leading participants in the current dollarization debates. Many advocate the notion of a common currency, while others feel that in doing so will create financial costs for all that take part, with the severity varying from country to country.

Table of Contents:
Contributors Dominick Salvatore, James W. Dean, and Thomas D. Willett: Introduction Part I. General Analysis A Visionary's View 1: Robert Mundell: Currency Areas, Exchange Rate Systems, and International Monetary Reform De Facto Dollarization 2: Edgar L. Feige, Michael Faulend, Velimir &Sonje, and Vedran &So&si'c: Unofficial Dollarization in Latin America: Currency Substitution, Network Externalities, and Irreversibility Pros and Cons 3: Andrew Berg and Eduardo R. Borensztein: The Pros and Cons of Full Dollarization 4: Vittorio Corbo: Is It Time for a Common Currency for the Americas? 5: Sebastian Edwards: Dollarization: Myths and Realities 6: Barry Eichengreen: What Problems Can Dollarization Solve? 7: Kurt Schuler: What Use Is Monetary Sovereignty? One Regime for All Countries? 8: Thomas D. Willett: The OCA Approach to Exchange Rate Regimes: A Perspective on Recent Developments 9: John Williamson: Dollarization Does Not Make Sense Everywhere 10: Ronald I. McKinnon: The Problem of Dollar Encroachment in Emerging Markets 11: Dominick Salvatore: Which Countries in the Americas Should Dollarize? 12: George M. von Furstenberg: Pressures for Currency Consolidation in Insurance and Finance: Are the Currencies of Financially Small Countries on the Endangered List? Part II. Political Economy 13: Benjamin J. Cohen: Monetary Union: The Political Dimension 14: Jürgen Schuldt: Latin American Official Dollarization: Political Economy Aspects 15: Nancy Neiman Auerbak and Aldo Flores-Quiroga: The Political Economy of Dollarization in Mexico 16: Harris Dellas and George S. Tavlas: Lessons of the Euro for Dollarization: Analytic and Political Economy Perspectives Part III. North America 17: Thomas J. Courchene and Richard G. Harris: North American Currency Integration: A Canadian Perspective 18: Herbert G. Grubel: The Merit of a North American Monetary Union 19: John D. Murray: Why Canada Needs a Flexible Exchange Rate Part IV. Latin America 20: James W. Dean: Should Latin America's Common-Law Marriage to the U.S. Dollar Be Legalized? Should Canada's? 21: Liliana Rojas-Suarez: What Exchange Rate Arrangement Works Best for Latin America? 22: Steven H. Hanke: A Dollarization/Free-Banking Blueprint for Argentina 23: José María Fanelli: Argentina's Currency Board and the Case for Macroeconomic Policy Coordination in Mercosur 24: Archibald R. M. Ritter and Nicholas P. Rowe: Cuba: "Dollarization" and "Dedollarization" Index

Review :
The strength of the book is that it brings together most of the major protagonists from the Americas in debates over dollarization and related matters. There is a refreshing variety of views, with no attempt by the editors to impose a party line. The book is a timely contribution to an important ongoing but unsettled debate. The book is well-produced by Oxford University Press, with a usable index. On the whole, the collection is a good read with a strong assembly of authors from academia, think tanks, central banks and the private sector. For anybody unfamiliar with the current debates, it is a good introduction to the issues surrounding dollarization in the western hemisphere.