No wonder, then, that emerging-market economies are confused about the right exchange-rate regime to pursue.
To some extent, these troubles can be ascribed to faults in the design of the exchange-rate regime.
But this week Pedro Malan, the finance minister, insisted there would be no change in Brazil's exchange-rate regime.
One of the biggest obstacles is also one of the most basic working out which exchange-rate regime is actually being applied.
Yet there were few voices advising Argentina to move to a different exchange-rate regime when a switch might have been less painful.
But this is not to say that either version of the fix-at-all-costs approach resolves the dilemmas inherent in the choice of exchange-rate regime.
China's monetary policy is also constrained by its rigid exchange-rate regime.
ECONOMIST: Economics focus: A stitch in time saves nine | The
In both countries, the new fixed-exchange-rate regime came to be seen as the end point of the reforms, rather than a prelude to broader structural adjustments.
The country has made a first move towards changing its exchange-rate regime, which might eventually imply fewer reserves overall as well as some diversification away from dollar reserves, but nothing suggests that it is in any hurry.
IR You rightly point out (Economics focus, January 29th) that the combination of a floating exchange-rate regime with a monetary framework based on explicit inflation targeting is becoming popular in emerging economies (as well as in industrial countries, you may also add).
But, in the longer run, the breakdown of an exchange-rate regime that did so much to foster growth may force the region's exporters to do things they have long talked about, such as improving education so as to increase productivity and foster domestic technologies.
The paradox is that part of the euro's purpose is to re-empower the European electorate by equipping the EU with a currency strong enough to challenge the rule of the tiny group of foreign-exchange dealers who, in a floating exchange-rate regime, can settle the fate of national economic policies.
Supporters of the new government also say that it will try to make economic reform more palatable to Congress: whereas Mr Mahuad proposed the new exchange-rate regime as part of a package including telecoms and energy privatisation and changes in the labour laws, the new team may try to do things in stages.
Stabilizing the dollar-euro exchange rate can only be achieved within a rule-based monetary regime, not by relying on "independent" central banks and finance ministers to coordinate monetary policy to do it.
The inflation-targeting regime, introduced after Britain was spat out of the European exchange-rate mechanism in 1992, was already proving a success.
He proposed, sensibly, that getting China to help combat the global recession--by doing more to stimulate domestic demand--was a more urgent concern to the U.S. than its exchange rate regime.
Lastly, the G7 commitment to prevent exchange rate misalignment following the prolonged financial crisis in emerging markets has prompted policy initiatives to create a loose target-zone regime among the dollar, yen and euro.
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