Dollarization

Cuba wants to slow down the dollarization of its currency.

“Many emerging-market economies have tried a number of technical devices: the fixed rate peg, varieties of crawling peg, currency boards and even dollarization,” Mr. Greenspan said in a recent speech. “The success has been mixed. Where successful, they have been backed by sound policies.”

Making dollarisation work requires structural reform, something President Noboa has failed to achieve. Ecuador's businesses are struggling against high costs. The public finances face a shortfall. A new agreement with the IMF has proved elusive. Neither candidate says he would scrap the dollar, but neither says much about reform.

But dollarization is not a panacea for Argentina’s crisis-stricken economy, analysts say.