The paper sheds light on the apparent success of dollarization in Ecuador. The experience of Argentina with convertibility is used to anchor the analysis. Two key factors are seen to play the most important role; first, the behavior of the real exchange rate and second, the source of external...

The Gold Standard was an asymmetrical system, with different rules of the game for the Center and the Periphery. The periphery was for most of the time off the gold standard system, and effectively in an exchange-gold system. This paper will analyze the main effects of this hybrid system on the...