How tight should one's hands be tied? Fear of floating and credibility of exchange rate regimes

Jesús Rodríguez-López () and Hugo Rodriguez Mendizabal

UFAE and IAE Working Papers from Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC)

Abstract: This paper analyzes the linkages between the credibility of a target zone regime, the volatility of the exchange rate, and the width of the band where the exchange rate is allowed to fluctuate. These three concepts should be related since the band width induces a trade-off between credibility and volatility. Narrower bands should give less scope for the exchange rate to fluctuate but may make agents perceive a larger probability of realignment which by itself should increase the volatility of the exchange rate. We build a model where this trade-off is made explicit. The model is used to understand the reduction in volatility experienced by most EMS countries after their target zones were widened on August 1993. As a natural extension, the model also rationalizes the existence of non-official, implicit target zones (or fear of floating), suggested by some authors.

Keywords: fear of floating; target zones; exchange rate arrangements; rational expectations; credibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E52 E58 F31 F33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34
Date: 2003-10-21
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eec and nep-rmg
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http://pareto.uab.es/wp/2003/59303.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: How Tight Should One's Hands Be Tied? Fear of Floating and Credibility of Exchange Rate Regimes (2015)
Journal Article: How Tight Should One's Hands be Tied? Fear of Floating and the Credibility of Exchange Rate Regimes (2006)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aub:autbar:593.03

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