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 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...