In exchange rate-based stabilization programs, credibility often follows a distinct time pattern. At first it rises as the highly visible nominal anchor provides a sense of stability and hopes run high for a permanent solution to the fiscal problems. Later, as the domestic currency appreciates...

This paper examines the relationship between the degree of wage indexation chosen by private agents and the degree of indexation of the public debt. It is shown that the government is likely to respond to an increase in the degree of wage indexation by increasing the portion of the public debt...

The central issue of the paper is the optimality of different degrees of price indexation and maturity structures of government debt when markets are incomplete and policymakers face quot;credibilityquot; problems.The analysis shows that price indexation is useful because it affects the relevant...

This paper analyzes, in a public finance context, how the optimal use of the inflation and the consumption tax is affected by incorporating into the model constraints on policy decisions that are likely to develop in the context of the EMS by 1992. Two main questions are addressed: first, how...

A brief survey of the literature on speculative attacks is provided. The nature and causes of balance-of-payments crises, the implications for the behavior of the current account and the real exchange rate are discussed. Also, potential areas for future research on balance-of-payments crises are...

In the 1990s globalization brought to most countries in Latin America unprecedented challenges for policymakers. This paper examines the interaction between the changing economic environment and the response of policymakers to the volatility experienced by international capital markets. In doing...