Working Paper 134 - Inflation Targeting, Exchange Rate Shocks and Output: Evidence from South Africa

This paper derives the inflation equation to search for a possible transmission channel between the real interest rate, inflation rate, exchange rates, real output growth rate using a Bayesian VAR sign restriction approach. Our findings show that the real interest rate reacts negatively to inflation rate shocks and the Fisher effect holds in the long run. We show that strict inflation targeting approach is not compatible with significant real output growth. However a flexible inflation-targeting framework which attaches a large weight to the role of real effective exchange rates results in a significant real output growth given the Central Bank desire to accumulate more foreign exchange reserves and high oil price inflation. Thus real effective exchange rate measuring competitiveness against trading partners matters more than domestic currency and nominal effective exchange rate depreciations.