Regional currency areas and the use of foreign currencies

Abstract

Arrangements that replace independent national currencies (regional currency areas, currency boards, official or unofficial use of a foreign currency) have become increasingly popular. However, they raise at least three broad questions. First, do their benefits (notably lower transactions costs) exceed the costs (reduced policy flexibility)? Second, which of these regimes is most suitable for a particular economy? Third, must institutions be developed to ensure economic convergence and other complementary measures that will guarantee the success of a common currency, or are convergence and complementary measures a likely consequence of adopting a common currency?

Senior central bankers from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States discussed experiences and research on these questions at a two-day meeting held at the BIS in September 2002. The first day focused on economic issues and the second on legal and practical issues.

Introduction

	Title	Languages
	Introduction by John Hawkins and Paul Masson	EN

Economics

	Title	Languages
	Economic aspects of regional currency areas and the use of foreign currencies by John Hawkins and Paul Masson	EN

Europe

	Title	Languages
	Regional currency areas: a few lessons from the experiences of the Eurosystem and the CFA franc zone by Marc-Olivier Strauss-Kahn	EN
	The currency board and monetary stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina by Dragan Kovačević	EN
	Shadowing the euro: Bulgaria's monetary policy five years on by Kalin Hristov and Martin Zaimov	EN
	Monetary policy and management of capital flows in a situation of high euroisation - the case of Croatia by Boris Vujčić	EN
	Malta's exchange rate arrangements - a medium-term perspective by David Pullicino and Alfred Demarco	EN

Middle East

	Title	Languages
	The Gulf Cooperation Council monetary union: a Bahraini perspective by Khalid Al-Bassam	EN
	Monetary policy in Qatar and Qatar's attitude towards the proposed single currency for the Gulf Cooperation Council by Fahad Faisal Al-Thani	EN
	A common currency area for the Gulf region by Muhammad Al-Jasser and Abdulrahman A Al-Hamidy	EN
	Concrete steps towards the establishment of a monetary union for the Gulf Cooperation Council countries by Mohammed Ali Bin Zayed Al Falasi	EN

Africa

	Title	Languages
	Botswana's exchange rate policy by Kealeboga Masalila and Oduetse Motshidisi	EN
	Regional currency areas and the use of foreign currencies: Lesotho's experience by Tabo Foulo	EN
	South Africa's experience of regional currency areas and the use of foreign currencies by Lambertus van Zyl	EN
	Regional currency areas and use of foreign currencies: the experience of West Africa by Michael Ojo	EN
	Regional currency areas: lessons from the West African sub region and Nigeria's policy stance by Ernest Ebi	EN

Other regions

	Title	Languages
	The ASEAN currency and exchange rate mechanism task force by Ooi Sang Kuang and Sukhdave Singh	EN
	The use of foreign currencies: the United States perspective by David Howard	EN