Implications of New Keynesian Theory for Benchmarking of Monetary Efficiency

Abstract

Relative to free floating exchange rate regimes, I find the adoption of a hybrid exchange rate regime induces alternate monetary policy responses within the context of new Keynesian theory. Specifically, while the efficiency with which an economy is managed can be derived from comparisons of effects of inflation or balance of payments on exchange rates within a cross-section of countries that run free floating exchange rate regimes, this is not the case within a cross-section of countries that operate hybrid exchange rate regimes. In countries that operate hybrid exchange rate regimes, the efficiency with which an economy is managed is derived from comparisons of the effects of exchange rates on inflation or balance of payments situations. In so far as measurement of economic distortions are concerned, while relations between deposit or lending interest rates and inflows of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into countries with hybrid exchange rate regimes yield insights into the extent to which inflows of foreign capital induce distortionary effects on price equilibriums, these relations do not yield similar insights within a cross-section of countries that run free floating exchange rate regimes. These findings, generated within the context of new Keynesian theory, identify theoretically appropriate differences in benchmarking of economic efficiency conditional on differences in exchange rate regimes.