Hanke named adviser to Venezuelan government

     Professor Steve H. Hanke, an applied economist in the
Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, has been
named special adviser to the Venezuelan government. He is charged
with studying the possibility of the government's issuance of a
new currency pegged to the U.S. dollar, as a hedge against
inflation.
     Dr. Hanke, who introduced a similar convertibility idea that
reduced hyperinflation in Argentina, is the co-author of two
books on currency reform: Russian Currency and Finance (1993) and
Currency Boards for Developing Countries: A Handbook (1994). He
currently is also economic adviser to the Office of the President
of the Republic of Kazakhstan and state counselor for monetary
and financial issues for the Republic of Lithuania.
     The chief goal of the new currency would be to reduce
inflation, which was 70.8 percent in 1994, the second highest in
Venezuela's history.