Macroeconomic Regimes, Policies, and Outcomes in the World

This paper summarizes a research project focused on the empirical determinants of and interrelations between macroeconomic regimes, policies, and performance in the world. The project’s hypotheses are structured into three related themes. The first aim is analyzing the determinants of the likelihood of adoption of macroeconomic policy regimes. The second project theme focuses on cyclicality of macroeconomic policies and accuracy in attaining inflation targets. Finally, the project tests for the behavior of two key macroeconomic variables - economic growth and inflation – focusing on their sensitivity to different macroeconomic regimes and policies. A large world database was assembled for this project from both publicly available and private databases. Data coverage extends to more than 100 countries, with annual time series extending from 1970 to 2008. A wide spectrum of frontier estimation techniques is applied to the country panel data series, appropriate for discrete-choice and continuous variable estimation. The key research results are the following. Country choice of macroeconomic policy regimes (exchange-rate regimes, money-based targeting, inflation targeting, and rule-based fiscal regimes) is explained by countries’ structural and institutional features, macroeconomic performance, financial development, and international integration. The cyclical behavior of fiscal policy reflects the quality of country institutions, financial openness, and financial development. Central bank accuracy in meeting inflation targets is also a result of domestic institutional strength and macroeconomic credibility. Long-term growth is significantly shaped by the quality of policies, financial development, foreign aid, and exchange-rate misalignment, in addition to standard growth determinants. Growth volatility is a result of domestic macroeconomic policy volatility, external shocks, international integration, and financial development. Country inflation rates are determined by international factors and domestic determinants, including fiscal policy, institutional development, monetary and exchangerate regimes, and financial depth and integration.Macroeconomic regimes, macroeconomic policies, inflation, growth

Fiscal and monetary contraction in Chile : a rational-expectations approach

For the past two decades, Chile has consistently pursued a course of macroeconomic stabilization and deep economic reform. But in recent years, real exchange rate appreciation and persistent moderate inflation have become key concerns for Chilean policymakers, suggesting the need for further fiscal and monetary retrenchment. Using an open-economy, dynamic rational-expectations macroeconomic model applied to Chile, the authors analyze and quantify the macroeconomic impact of fiscal and monetary retrenchment. Several features of the model are essential for a realistic assessment of the effects of fiscal and monetary policy shifts in Chile: backward indexation of wages, consolidation of the central bank and the general government, and the coexistence of (1) liquidity-constrained consumers and firms with (2) unconstrained agents whose consumption and investment decisions reflect intertemporal optimization with perfect foresight. This framework makes it possible to distinguish meaningfully betweenpermanent and transitory policy changes, as well as between changes that are or are not anticipated. Simulations show that a balanced-budget fiscal contraction leads to a modest real depreciation, which is sharper in the short term (especially if the contraction is temporary). At the same time, this type of fiscal retrenchment causes a temporary deterioration of the current account. An orthodox money-based disinflation implemented by halving the growth rate of base money leads to a sharp real appreciation in the near term, with steep output and employment costs in the short run, but it also causes a transitory improvement in the current account.Environmental Economics&Policies,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Fiscal&Monetary Policy,Economic Theory&Research,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Macroeconomic Management,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Stabilization

Economic and policy determinants of public sector deficits

The purpose of this paper is to derive a framework for quantifying the contribution of the most important economic and policy variables to the public sector deficit. The method involves behavioral relations, identities for some key macroeconomic and sector variables and an accounting breakdown of the consolidated public sector deficit. This allows one to compare the direct effects of various foreign and domestic economic shocks on the deficit with those arising from changes in policy-controlled variables. The method is useful for decomposing historical time series of public deficits according to their main determinants - and for carrying out simulation or projection exercises for the level and structure of future deficits.Economic Stabilization,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies