How Crazy Do You Have to Be to Support Dollarization?

September 28, 2023

Javier Milei, the frontrunner in the Argentine presidential elections, has officially tapped Emilio Ocampo to head Argentina’s central bank (BCRA). Ocampo and I co-authored the now-famous dollarization proposal that Milei has been championing. If Milei is elected, Ocampo will be the next (and hopefully final) president of BCRA.

Under Milei’s presidency and Ocampo’s leadership at the BCRA, Argentina will shut down its central bank and adopt the dollar. Many economists in Argentina oppose the dollarization plan. In fact, their opposition is so strong that they would have one believe only an economist who stumbled into his degree by accident could advocate for such a monetary reform. Is this the case? Certainly not. Several reputable economists have explicitly endorsed the idea of dollarization, some specifically for Argentina.