Brien Desilets

Monetary Politics Brien Desilets

Brexit. European Union expansion. The Eurasian Economic Union. The Ukraine Crisis. The return of Argentina to international capital markets. Reform of the US Federal Reserve Bank. This book provides the back story for these very current events in six essays by Brien Desilets. "Monetary Federalism: The Case of the Commonwealth of Independent States" (CIS) provides guidelines for optimal monetary policy and an explanation for "local" currencies using an empirical study on the efficiency of a currency area for the CIS. "Russia: A Regional Leader Once Again" assesses Russia's impact on the economies of the former Soviet Union with some implications foreshadowing the current Eurasian Economic Union. "Bosnia and Herzegovina: Fiscal and Monetary Development and the Role of the IMF", documents one of the most fascinating stories in modern public administration, the creation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the ashes of the former Yugoslavia. "Alternative Currencies in Argentina: Response to a Crisis", traces Argentina's fall from the heights of its economic boom in the 1990s to the rupture of its currency peg to the US dollar and the ensuing issuance of more than 20 local and alternative currencies. The two final essays examine the effect of US budget deficits on the dollar/euro exchange rate and the Federal Funds Rate during the subprime crisis. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in monetary politics, the IMF and economic transition.