Cuban Monetary Policy : Response to the Global Crisis

This article analyzes the transmission mechanisms of the global crisis on variables that pertain to Cuban monetary policy. The analytical starting point are the results of estimating an econometric model known as a Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) model, which serves as the basis for evaluating the changes experienced by a specific group of indicators during the 2008–2009 period. Despite the impact that the global crisis had on the Cuban economy, monetary policy was able to keep inflation under control although it could not prevent exchange rate imbalances, adverse effects on the convertible peso, and a banking crisis without benefit of a lender of last resort. The most controversial decision in monetary terms is having followed a fixed exchange rate policy