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Currency board or central bank? Lessons from the Irish pound’s link with sterling, 1928-79

Author

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  • P. HONOHAN

    (The Economic and Social Research Institute)

Abstract

The resurgence of interest in currency boards prompts reconsideration of one of the Irish experience. The authors evaluate the institutional arrangements which underpinned the Irish pound for a half-century. While the regime did have a credibility which led to low interest rates and a degree of price stability, its resilience was partly due to the large additional foreign reserves held by the private banking system and to the fact that the sterling proved not to be a very strong currency. However, an attempt in 1955 to evade the interest rate discipline of the regime was quickly punished, with far-reaching policy consequences.

Suggested Citation

  • P. Honohan, 1997. "Currency board or central bank? Lessons from the Irish pound’s link with sterling, 1928-79," BNL Quarterly Review, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, vol. 50(200), pages 39-67.
    • Handle: RePEc:psl:bnlaqr:1997:13
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Frank Barry, 2014. "Diversifying external linkages: the exercise of Irish economic sovereignty in long-term perspective," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 30(2), pages 208-222.
    2. Kenny, Seán & McLaughlin, Eoin, 2022. "Political Economy Of Secession: Lessons From The Early Years Of The Irish Free State," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 261, pages 48-78, August.
    3. Charlie Wang, 2017. "History, Policies and Financial Statements of the Irish Currency Commission and the Central Bank of Ireland (1927 – 1979)," Studies in Applied Economics 79, The Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise.

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    JEL classification:

    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General

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