Monetary policy frameworks in the Asia and Pacific region have performed well in the past decade as judged by inflation outcomes. We argue that this is due to three principal factors : (i) central banks have focused on price stability as the primary objective of monetary policy, (ii)...

The determinants of current account imbalances under floating exchange rates are analyzed. The analysis provides a framework within which the sources of, and the remedies for, the current account imbalances between the United States, Japan, and the Federal Republic of Germany can be discussed....

The article surveys theoretical issues and empirical evidence on the effects of central bank intervention in foreign exchange markets on exchange rate movements. The focus is on the ability of fully sterilized intervention to influence exchange rates in a predictable manner. Theoretical...

Interest in currency internationalisation among policy makers as well as the general public has intensified in recent years. One reason is a view that the global impact of the recent financial crisis has been intensified because of the dominant role of the US dollar in the international...

There is renewed interest in monetary cooperation in Asia. To the extent that such cooperation evolves to include discussions about co-ordination of exchange rate policies it is important to evaluate the desirability of such co-ordination. Such an evaluation involves in part an assessment of the...

Monetary policy frameworks in the Asia and Pacific region have performed well in the past decade as judged by inflation outcomes. We argue that this is due to three principal factors: (i) central banks have focused on price stability as the primary objective of monetary policy, (ii)...

In January 2000 the Swiss National Bank adopted a new monetary policy framework incorporating a price stability objective defined as (any rate of) CPI inflation below 2 percent. We contrast this framework with inflation targeting strategies and review the SNB’s policy decisions since its...