Currency substitution

Abstract: Although currency invoicing in international trade transactions is central to the transmission of monetary policy, the forces motivating the choice of currency have long been debated. We introduce a model wherein agents involved in international trade can invoice in the exporter's currency, the importer's currency, or a third-country vehicle currency. The model is designed to contrast the contribution of macroeconomic variability with that of industry-specific features in the selection of an invoice currency. We show that producers in industries with high demand elasticities are more likely than producers in other industries to display herding in their choice of currency. This industry-related force is more influential than local macroeconomic performance in determining producers' choices. Drawing on data on invoice currency use in exports and imports for twenty-four countries, we document that the dollar is the currency of choice for most transactions involving the United States. The dollar is also extensively used as a vehicle currency in international trade flows that do not directly involve the United States. Consistent with the results of our model, this last finding is largely attributable to international trade in reference-priced and organized-exchange traded goods. Although the magnitude of business-cycle volatility matters for invoicing of more differentiated products, it is less central for invoicing nondifferentiated goods.

Abstract: This paper reviews the main policy and analytical issues related to currency substitution in developing countries. The paper discusses, first, whether currency substitution should be encouraged or not; second, how the presence of currency substitution affects the choice of nominal anchors in inflation stabilization programs; third, the effects of changes in the rate of growth of the money supply on the real exchange rate; fourth, the interaction between inflationary finance and currency substitution; and, finally, issues related to the empirical verification of the currency substitution hypothesis.

Abstract: Dollarization, in a broad sense, is increasingly a defining characteristic of many emerging market economies. How important is this trend quantitatively and how important is it for the conduct of monetary policy and the choice of exchange rate regimes? Though these questions have become a hot topic in both the theory and policy literature, most efforts are remarkably uninformed by evidence, in no small part because meaningful data has been lacking, except for a very narrow range of assets. This paper attempts to move the discussion forward and shed light on the critical questions by proposing a measure of dollarization that is broad both conceptually and in terms of country coverage. We use this measure to identify trends in the evolution of dollarization in the developing world in the last two decades, and to ascertain the consequences that dollarization has had on the effectiveness of monetary and exchange rate policy. We find that, contrary to the general presumption in the literature, a high degree of dollarization does not seem to be an obstacle to monetary control or to disinflation. A level of dollarization does, however, appear to increase exchange rate pass-through, reinforcing the claim that 'fear of floating' is a greater problem for highly dollarized economies. We also review the developing countries' record in combating their addiction to dollars. Concretely, we try to explain why some countries have been able to avoid certain forms of the addiction, and examine the evidence on successful de-dollarization.