Why Exchange Rate Bands? Monetary Independence in Spite of Fixed Exchange Rates

The paper argues that the reason real world fixed exchange rate regimes usually have finite bands instead of completely fixed exchange rates between realignments is that exchange rate bands, counter to the textbook result, give central banks some monetary independence, even with free international capital mobility. The nature and amount of monetary independence is specified, informally, and in a formal model, and quantified with Swedish krona data. Altogether the amount of monetary independence appears sizable. For instance, an increase in the Swedish krona band from zero to about plus or minus two percent may reduce the krona interest rate's standard deviation by about one-half.