Using 1708-1788 historical data, we test the Austrian hypothesis that fractional-reserve banking destabilizes commodity prices, complicating economic calculation and entrepreneurial planning, and contributes to boom-bust cycles. The Bank of Amsterdam (Wisselbank, 1609-1819) maintained high...

Currency substitution in four central European countries, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, and Romania, is examined from 1986 to 1994. The sample period includes the end of central planning and transition to market economies. Before liberalization, central European economies faced increasing shortage...