Although currency boards help discipline government spending, therefore
reducing a major source of inflation in developing countries, there are concerns
about currency boards. Perhaps the most common objection is that a currency board
prevents a country from pursuing a discretionary monetary policy and thus reduces
its economic independence. Also, it is sometimes said that a currency-board system
is susceptible to financial panics because it lacks a lender of last resort. Another
objection is that a currency-board system creates a colonial relation with the anchor
currency. Critics cite the experiences of British colonies, which operated under
currency-board systems in the early 1900s.
It is possible for a nation’s monetary system to be orderly and disciplined under
either a currency board or a central banking system. But neither system by itself
guarantees either order or discipline. The effectiveness of both systems depends on
other factors, such as fiscal discipline and a sound banking system. In other words, it
is a whole network of responsible and mutually supporting policies and institutions
that make for sound money and stable exchange rates. No monetary regime, however
well conceived, can bear the entire burden alone