An Analysis of Monetary Integration on the American Continent: Its Essence and Specifics

An analysis of the monetary integration process should also refer to a situation where monetary unification has been successful and results in a well-functioning, single-currency area; the literature on the subject points to the United States as a specific example of such an area.

This specificity appears to be due to several reasons. Firstly, the process of creating a full monetary union (MU) took about 150 years in the USA. Secondly, the American Central Bank was established only in 1913, that is, 124 years after the entry into force of the US Constitution, which can be considered as the first stage of the construction of the MU in that country. In addition, the initial design of the bank, both in terms of its organisational structure and the manner in which it set monetary policy, was significantly different from that of the European central banks. Thirdly, the creation of a single-currency area in the USA took place within the borders of one state, from the very beginning. Thus, we can talk about a single-state MU. In view of the above, the question should be formulated as to whether the United States is a good reference point for the multi-state analysis of an MU.