This paper demonstrates that all of the currency options available to an independent Scotland come with the price tag of an austerity programme to the tune of £40bn. This is due to the need to accumulate foreign exchange reserves. So called Plan A - being part of a formal monetary union - comes...

Israelis commonly hold substantial foreign currency balances at home. This paper examines the phenomenon of these "closet dollars." We show that closet dollars are attractive only if there exists a positive probability that domestic deposits will pay negative dollar rates of return. If such...