The case for a “new” lira

Abstract

The author considers the transaction costs implied by the long-term depreciation of the Italian lira, which produced a sort of paradox: the lira is the monetary unit in Italy, but one lira coins or notes do not exist. According to the author such depreciation produces several distortions and should be tackled through a regrouping of the currency. JEL: E42

Keywords

• Italian lira
• depreciation
• currency regrouping