International Monetary Fund
700 19th Street, NW Washington, DC
May 17, 2007
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM (GMT-5)
"Inflation targeting" has become the operational objective for many central banks around the world. By one recent count, twenty-three countries had adopted formal inflation targeting as of 2006 and more are on the way.
This almost single-minded concern with inflation, however, leaves many important questions unanswered: Is inflation targeting really the best framework for developing-country central banks to adopt, even if they face relatively low rates of employment generation together with a high rate of poverty incidence? What are the concrete alternatives to inflation targeting and how would they operate under the constraints and conditionalities of a globalized world economy characterized by high finance capital mobility?
To address these questions, over the past three years, economists at the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey organized an international team of economists to develop a series of country and thematic studies on Alternatives to Inflation Targeting. Over two days on May 17 and 18, 2007, these researchers presented their findings and invited discussion of these broad issues.
Thursday, May 17: Panel Discussion at the IMF
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
International Monetary Fund
Room TBC
700 19th Street, NW
Washington, DC
Join us for a panel discussion on alternatives to inflation targeting in developing countries, with an international team of researchers from the PERI project. Comments will be presented by economists from the IMF and the G-24. An open discussion will follow.
Speakers:
- Murlio Portugal, "Perspectives & Lessons from Country Experiences with Inflation Targeting"
- Gerald Epstein and Erinc Yeldan, Overview of the findings on "Alternatives to Inflation Targeting"
- Roberto Frenkel "Inflation Targeting and Exchange Rate Policy"
- Nelson Barbosa Filho, "Inflation Targeting and Macroeconomic Policy in Brazil"
- Chair: Martin Abeles, G-24 Under-Secretary for Economic Affairs from Argentina, and Chair of the G24 Deputies
Event sponsor: The Intergovernmental Group of 24
Friday, May 18: Panel Discussion and Workshop
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Economic Policy Institute
1333 H Street, NW
Suite 300, East Tower
Washington, DC 20005
Schedule:
8:30 — Coffee and Light Breakfast
9:00-9:30 — Introduction by Gerald Epstein and Erinc Yeldan: Alternatives to Inflation Targeting for Employment Creation, Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Growth: A Multi-Country Study
9:30-11:00 — Country Studies I: Argentina, Philippines, Mexico
- Roberto Frenkel and Martin Rapetti, "Monetary and Exchange Rate Policies in Argentina after the Convertibility Regime Collapse"
- Luis Miguel Galindo and Jaime Ros, "Inflation Targeting in Mexico: An Empirical Essessment"
- Nelson Barbosa-Filho, "Inflation Targeting in Brazil: Is There an Alternative?"
11:15 — Coffee Break
11:15-1:15 — Country Studies II: South Africa and Turkey
- Gerald Epstein, "A Proposal for Employment Targeting Monetary Policy in South Africa"
- Robert Pollin, "Employment Targeting in South Africa: Financial and Fiscal Dimensions"
- Ebru Voyvoda and Erinc Yeldan, "Macroeconomics of Twin Targeting in Turkey"
- Joseph Lim, "Philippine Monetary Policy and Some Alternatives"
1:15-2:00 — Lunch
2:00-3:00 — Thematic Issues: Inflation, Gender Impacts, and Theoretical Frameworks
- Elissa Braunstein and James Heintz, "Gender Bias and Central Bank Policy: Employment and Inflation Reduction"
- Jose A. Cordero, "Monetary Regimes, Inflation and Growth in a Small Economy: A Structural Approach"
- Robert Pollin and Andong Zhu, "Inflation and Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Non-Linear Analysis"
3:00-4:00 — General Discussion and Next Steps: Alternatives to Inflation for Stable and Egalitarian Growth: The Project
Event sponsors:
