The Design and Conduct of Monetary Policy: Lessons for Pakistan (The Quaid-i-Azam Lecture)

Abstract

Movements in global capital during the late 1990s and the greater emphasis on price stability led many countries to abandon fixed exchange rate regimes and to design institutions and monetary policies to achieve credibility in the goal of lowering inflation. Such recent developments have brought to the forefront the idea that freely mobile capital, independent monetary policy, and fixed exchange rates form an “impossible trinity”. Inflation-targeting regimes being adopted by many countries provide a way of resolving this dilemma, and it is suggested that such a regime be implemented in Pakistan as well. JEL classification: E42, E52 Keywords: Monetary Policy, Rules versus Discretion, Inflation Targeting