SAE./No.92/October 2017 Studies in Applied Economics DID THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS HAVE A CURRENCY BOARD DURING THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION PERIOD? Ryan Freedman Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and Study of Business Enterprise Subsequently published in KSP Journals, September 2018 Did the Philippine Islands Have a Currency Board during the American Colonization Period? By Ryan Freedman Copyright 2017 by Ryan Freedman. This work may be reproduced provided that no fee is charged and the original source is properly credited. About the series The Studies in Applied Economics series is under the general direction of Professor Steve H. Hanke, co-director of the Johns Hopkins institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise (
[email protected]). This working paper is one in a series on currency boards. The currency board working papers will fill gaps in the history, statistics, and scholarship of the subject. The authors are mainly students at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Some performed their work as research assistants at the Institute. About the author Ryan Freedman (
[email protected]) is a senior at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore pursuing degrees in Applied Mathematics and Statistics and in Economics. He wrote this paper while serving as an undergraduate researcher at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise during the spring of 2017. He will graduate in May 2018. Abstract The Philippine monetary system and data from 1903-1948 are examined, using general observations and statistical tests to determine to what extent the system operated as a currency board.