Calvo, Guillermo A.Presented Before a Joint Hearing of the Subcommittees on Economic Policy and International Trade and Finance Washington, DC, April 22, 1999.I will discuss the motivation and potential benefits of full dollarization, namely, abandoning domestic currency (identified with the peso) and adopting a foreign currency (identified with the U.S. dollar), with special reference to emerging-market economies. I will argue, first, that full dollarization is especially advantageous for countries with large dollar debts, and, second, that in these economies standard criticisms against full dollarization are largely unwarranted.en-USfull dollarizationforeign currencydomestic currencydollar debtliability dollarizationPresentation