Policy Forum 

# Has the Time Come for Dollarization in the Americas? 

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Date and Time 

May 15, 2026 11 AM - 12:30 PM EDT 

Location 

Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 

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##### Featuring 

[![Media Name: jcochrane.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/authors/crops/jcochrane.jpg?itok=ATXREJO3)](/people/john-cochrane) 

[John H. Cochrane](/people/john-cochrane)

Rose-Marie and Jack Anderson Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution

[ 

](https://twitter.com/JohnHCochrane) 

![David Malpass-circle-cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2026-04/David%20Malpass-circle-cropped.jpg?itok=anRz-Lpu) 

David Malpass 

Former President, World Bank

![Emilio Ocampo](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2023-08/Emilio-Ocampo.jpg?itok=QjTN2p9C) 

Emilio Ocampo 

Professor of Finance and Economic History, UCEMA (Argentina)

[![Ian Vásquez](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Ian%20Vasquez.jpg?itok=yBS_mzpm)](/people/ian-vasquez) 

[Ian Vásquez](/people/ian-vasquez)

Vice President for International Studies, Cato Institute

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](https://x.com/vasquezian) [ 

](mailto:ivasquez@cato.org) 

The Trump administration has elevated the strategic importance of the Western Hemisphere to the United States at a time when countries in the region are turning away from leftist populism. Can dollarization play a key role in achieving stability and growth in Latin America? John Cochrane, David Malpass, and Emilio Ocampo will discuss the benefits of dollarization to Latin American countries with a history of bad monetary policy, why dollarization in the Americas would be good for the United States, and how adopting the dollar as the legal currency has worked out in Panama, Ecuador, and El Salvador. The speakers will discuss ways of dollarizing and why that reform is especially relevant to Argentina and Venezuela today.

**Lunch to follow.**

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