Canada's Pioneering Experience with a Flexible Exchange Rate in the 1950s:(Hard) Lessons Learned for Monetary Policy in a Small Open Economy by Michael D. Bordo, Ali Dib, Lawrence Schembri
This paper revisits Canada's pioneering experience with floating exchange rate over the period 1950-1962. It examines whether the floating rate was the best option for Canada in the 1950s by developing and estimating a New Keynesian small open economy model of the Canadian economy. The model is then used to conduct a counterfactual analysis of the impact of different monetary policies and exchange rate regimes. The main finding indicates that the flexible exchange rate helped reduce the volatility of key macro-economic variables. The Canadian monetary authorities, however, clearly did not understand all of the implications of conducting monetary policy under a flexible exchange rate and a high degree of capital mobility. The paper confirms that monetary policy was more volatile in the post-1957 period and Canada's macroeconomic performance suffered as a result.
Conquering Fear of Floating--Australia's Successful Adaptation to a Flexible Exchange Rate
Summary: Australia has enjoyed fifteen years of uninterrupted economic expansion since 1992 despite shocks such as the Asian crisis in 1997-98 and the information technology bust in 2000-01. This resilient economic performance owes much to wide-ranging structural reforms and the improved frameworks for monetary and fiscal policies that were implemented after the Australian dollar was floated in 1983. In addition to gaining the expected macroeconomic benefits from exchange rate flexibility, the float appeared to help motivate and facilitate the subsequent reforms. Australia's experience with adapting to a floating currency may therefore be of broader interest.
IEO Questions IMF Exchange Rate Advice
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