Currency boards, more so than other exchange rate regimes, have come in and out of fashion. Defined by a fixed exchange rate with full convertibility, central bank liabilities backed with foreign exchange reserves, and a high cost of exiting the regime, currency boards were common in colonial...

The transition economies of Eastern Europe almost uniformly experienced a precipitous plunge in savings rates - from levels above 30 percent of GDP to levels about half that - early in the transition, before rebounding slightly. Did savings collapse because involuntary savings were eliminated...