The distinguished authors in this volume address key issues facing policymakers in the Americas since the advent of NAFTA - the most important of which is to bring about monetary stability so that market reforms can proceed. Economic liberalization under NAFTA is being threatened by monetary instability in Mexico. If that instability spreads to other Latin American countries, the opportunity for economic integration in the Americas will be weakened.
These clearly written and insightful essays address the institutional changes necessary for successful integration and examine the future role of the dollar as an international currency. The question of monetary union is debated and alternatives to the present discretionary fiat-money regime are considered, including a currency board, a rule-bound central bank, and a free-banking system.
The 19 essays in this volume provide a framework for thinking about how to end the monetary chaos that has plagued Latin America and how to energize the market-liberal order that is now emerging in the Americas.
