This paper analyzes the ad hoc decision of three Asian countries to peg their currency to the U.S. dollar prior to the Asian crisis. It uses the Sjaastad model to estimate the optimal basket weights for Thailand, Korea, and Singapore. The analysis in this paper differs from the optimal basket...

Debates surrounding the adoption of a common currency have focused on its benefits weighed against the long-term costs of losing monetary independence. These debates have assumed that the penalty for not adopting a common currency is the maintenance of the status quo. This paper uses the...

Since 1998, the staff of the International Monetary Fund has published a classification of countries' de facto exchange rate arrangements. Experience in operating this classification system has highlighted a need for changes. The present paper provides information on revisions to the system in...