The choice of the exchange rate regime (ERR) has direct implications on the evolution of key nominal variables (inflation, relative prices) and, as a result, on output growth and volatility, and income distribution. Moreover, it may affect many other fronts related to nominal issues such as trade (influenced by real exchange rate levels and exchange rate stability) and finance (as a peg may foster financial intermediation at the cost of building currency imbalances). This survey deals, first, with the identification of de facto ERR – understood as the policy maker's decision rather than the empirical characterization of exchange rate behavior. Next, it focuses on the channels through which ERR may influence economic outcomes. Finally, it traced the history of ERR in the post-Bretton Woods years and takes stock of the current state of the ERR debate.