For decades, the exchange rate was at the center of macroeconomic policy debates in emerging markets. Many countries used the nominal exchange rate to bring down inflation, –others—mostly in Latin America—used the exchange rate to implicitly tax the export sector. Currency crises were common and usually ...

In mid-January 1990, Brazil abandoned its crawling exchange rate band. Surprisingly enough, the country's economic performance in the aftermath of this episode was much better than expected, given the performance of other emerging market economies after a move toward floating. Despite the large ...

In the twentieth century, Chile experienced most monetary and exchange rate regimes. Periods of fixed exchange rates usually ended in speculative attacks as a result of inconsistent policies or significant external shocks, generating serious real costs and larger exchange rate volatility.

Inflation targeting in an open economy insolves a number of complexities that do not arise with inflation targeting in a clises economy. One of these is that central banks in open economies have to decide how to repond to changes in the exchange rate.

For a small open economy, maintaining a stable exchange rate and moderate levels of inflation is often a goal of primary importance. At the same time, the profession has recognized the tight link between fiscal and monetary policies in determining inflation dynamics. Thus, the goal of a stable exchange ...

Chile offers an example of a country that has overcome the fear of floating by reducing balance-sheet mismatches; enhancing financial-market development; and improving monetary, fiscal, and political institutions; while strengthening policy credibility. Under the floating regime, Chile’s economic ...

Durante los últimos años la economía chilena ha sufrido shocks importantes que han implicado un gran desafío para la conducción de la política monetaria. El fin del súper ciclo de las materias primas y condiciones financieras internacionales más estrechas junto con una caída importante en los niveles ...

Inflation targeting needs exchange rate flexibility. If the policy interest rate is geared to achieving the inflation target the central bank must be willing to accept the resulting exchange rate. Simply put if the central bank has both an inflation target and an exchange rate target the private sector ...

Monetary policy design has experienced major changes over the last twenty years. These changes had their origin in changes in macroeconomic theory, a better understanding of the importance of achieving and maintaining low inflation, and the abandonment of fixed pegs in favor of floating exchange rate ...

Both policymakers and economists increasingly accept that the main medium- to long-run goal of monetary policy is the pursuit of price stability, defined as maintaining a low and stable rate of inflation. A high and variable inflation rate is socially and economically costly.