Ecuador's dollarization was no marginal optimization decision. It was fundamental, dramatic and designed to completely transform central elements of the economy. Since orthodox, a-historical perspectives are inadequate in explaining such significant policy reversals, the paper uses a...

The early twentieth century role of U.S. “money doctors” in establishing Latin American exchange rate regimes and monetary institutions is relatively well known. For example, the work of Edwin Kemmerer in the Andes has been extensively documented. Not so well-known is the work of Latin...

The policy reform termed dollarization, adoption of a foreign currency as the domestic currency, is widely believed to be irreversible. The paper presents counter examples, while noting that the Latin American "hard pegs" present problems that are more complex. It then uses Ecuador, the...