Regional Currencies versus Dollarization: Options for Asia and the Americas Felipe Larraín B. Center for International Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University José Tavares* Department of Economics Universidade Nova, Lisbon, Portugal And Cristina Garcia Center for International Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University January 2003 Keywords: Exchange Rates, Currency Areas, Dollarization, East Asia, Europe, South America, Central America. JEL Classification: E42; F15; F31; F33; F36. * We have benefited greatly from the comments of an anonymous referee and of the journal editor. John Huffstot has provided editorial assistance. Corresponding author: José Tavares, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade Nova de Economia, Campus de Campolide, 1099 – 032 Lisboa, Portugal (Europe); Tel: (351) 21 380 1669; Fax: (351) 21 388 6073; E-mail: jtavares@fe.unl.pt