51.   Most economists view currency boards as last-ditch efforts that can do more harm than good.

52.   Most analysts concede, though, that a currency board might work.

53.   On a visit to Tokyo on Thursday, Habibie was quoted as saying a currency board might not be the only way to stabilize the rupiah.

54.   Once the currency board was established, the Indonesian central bank would no longer be able to mint more money and lend it to the banks.

55.   Opinion is divided as to whether a currency board should be set up in Mexico.

56.   Proponents also say that a currency board makes sense for Mexico because of its economic integration with the United States through the North American Free Trade Agreement.

57.   Russia is under pressure to take radical steps, including establishment of a currency board, to restore some credibility to the battered ruble.

58.   Similarly, Estonia and Lithuania have found a financial haven in currency boards.

59.   Slezevicius says he and Nursultan A. Nazarbayev, president of Kazakhstan, have been talking about establishing a currency board in that former Soviet republic.

60.   Still, some economists say they would not be surprised if the move toward currency boards gathers momentum in coming months or years.