An economic analysis of the Bahamas Currency

Philip PROKOS

Abstract


Abstract. This paper seeks to answer whether the replacement of the Bahamas currency board by a central bank was a rational decision given the subsequent economic performance climate of the central bank and the Bahamian economy. The paper describes the currency board’s establishment; its switch from the pound sterling to the U.S. dollar as the anchor currency; and its replacement by a proto-central bank soon succeeded by the Central Bank of the Bahamas, which continues in existence today. Statements of the currency board from the Bahamas Gazette as well as other sources will help analyze the aforementioned periods and illustrate the effects each transition had on the economy. The paper will examine the later years of the currency board and test whether it behaved in an orthodox or unorthodox manner as well as exploring its relation to government finance.

Keywords. Bahamas; Currency board.

JEL. E59; N16; N26.

Keywords


Bahamas; Currency board.

Full Text:


References


Bahamas Annual Colonial Report. Great Britain (United Kingdom). Colonial Office, Bahamas: Report for … (1916/1917-1930); Colonial Office, Annual Report on the Social and Economic Progress of the People of the Bahamas (1931-1938); not published 1939-1945 because of World War II; Colonial Office, Annual Report on the Bahama Islands for the Year 1946 (1946), Colonial Office, Annual Report on The Bahamas for the Years 1947 & 1948 (1947/1948); Colonial Office, Report on the Bahamas for the Year [or Years] ... (1949-1952/1953); Colonial Office, Bahamas: Report for the Years ... (1954/1955-1964/1965?). London: His / Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. (This series was called Colonial Reports until World War II and Colonial Annual Reports afterwards; it was suspended during the war for most colonies.)

Bahamas. Blue Books. 1919-1939. Nassau: [Government Printer].

Bahamas. Official Gazette. 1920-1969. Nassau: [Government Printer].

“Bahamas (BHS) World Bank Data,” World Development Indicators 2014. Washington, DC: World Bank. viewed 18 April 2015. [Retrieved from].

Central Bank of the Bahamas Web. 2011. Web site > About Us > History, viewed 18 April 2015. [Retrieved from].

Chalmers, R. (1893). A History of Currency in the British Colonies. London: Printed for H.M.S.O. by Eyre and Spottiswoode.

Frankema, E. (2010). Raising revenue in the British empire, 1870–1940: how ‘extractive’ were colonial taxes? Journal of Global History, 5, 447-477. doi. 10.1017/S1740022810000227

Haimann, A., & Hassan Y. (2012). Currency board working paper. Unpublished paper, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.

Hanke, S.H., & Schuler, K. (1993). Currency boards and currency convertibility, Cato Journal, 12(3), 687-727.

Hanke, S.H., & Schuler, K. (2002). What went wrong in Argentina. Central Banking, 12(3), 43-48.

Hanke, S.H. (2002). Currency boards. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 579, 87-105. [Retrieved from].

Hanke, S.H. (2008). Why Argentina did not have a currency board. Central Banking, 18(3), 56-58.

International Monetary Fund. (2011). Articles of agreement of the international monetary fund, 2011 Edition. Washington: International Monetary Fund.

Labonte, M., & Makinen, G. (2004). A currency board as an alternative to a central bank. Congressional Research Service Report for Congress. [Retrieved from].

Krus, N., & Schuler, K. (2014). Currency board financial statements, Studies in Applied Economics Currency Board Working Paper. (see especially p. 16). [Retrieved from].

Rabushka, A. (1997). Restructuring the Bahamian economy for the 21st Century. [Retrieved from].

Rabushka, A. (2010). History of the Monetary Systems and Public Finances in The Bahamas 1946-2003. Nassau, Bahamas: Nassau Institute. viewed 18 April 2015. [Retrieved from].

Ramsaran, R.F. (1984). The Monetary and Financial System of the Bahamas: Growth, Structure, and Operation. Mona, Jamaica: Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies. viewed 18 April 2015. [Retrieved from].




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1453/jeb.v9i4.2398

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Journal of Economics Bibliography - J. Econ. Bib.  - JEB - www.kspjournals.org

ISSN: 2149-2387.

Editor: [email protected]  Secretarial: [email protected]  Istanbul - Turkey.

Copyright © KSP Library