"Hypercrowding out occurs when fiscally dominated governments' domestic credit demands are so intrusive to a nation's financial system that a move toward fiscal surplus lowers interest rates and increases growth. We sample nine Latin American countries to test for these relationships. The...

Of the many countries that suffered exchange rate crises in the 1990s, Brazil and Korea recovered most rapidly. This article analyzes the Brazilian recovery. William Gruben and John Welch focus on the freedom that Brazilian bank health gave to the central bank to pursue a postcrisis monetary...

Chronic inflation and the importance of the exchange rate as a nominal anchor for the domestic price level have led some Latin American countries to consider returning to a fixed dollar exchange rate. John Welch and Darryl McLeod examine the costs and benefits of real exchange rate movements and...

Most economists agree that trade liberalization raises incomes and living standards. To achieve trade liberalization, though, countries must sometimes first reach trade agreements. And trade agreements, as William Gruben and John Welch observe, may intertwine elements of both liberalization and...

The purpose of this study is to gauge the performance of unilateral target zones arrangements in two Latin American countries, Mexico and Chile. In doing so we look at the institutional and historical evolution of these exchange rate regimes. We then deal with performance in a more formal...