This paper studies the political economy of realignments to fixed exchange rates and suggests that the use of realignments is less likely when there are political benefits from stable exchange rates and when linkages across other issue areas increase the costs of realignment. More specifically...

In exchange rate target zone models the commitment of policymakers to intervene at the boundaries of the band gives rise to speculation which stabilizes exchange rates within the band. The empirical implications of such stochastic process switching are discussed and their relevance for the...