A Discussion of the Monetary Condition Index

The monetary conditions index (MCI) was developed in the early 1990s with the aim of capturing two of the important monetary transmission channels by combining both interest rates and exchange rates. This article examines the development of the MCI and explores the difficulties with implementing it as well as many of the problems associated with interpreting its results. These problems also need to be borne in mind with the recent interest in developing measures of how financial variables affect the economy through the development of financial condition indicators.