La gestion des taux de change dans les pays émergents. La leçon des expériences récentes

This article studies if the recent de jure conversion of most emergent countries to exchange rate floating is verified de facto. The analysis of exchange rate evolutions of a group of emergent countries reveals that, in spite of official declarations, exchange rate management remains the norm. Open to international capital markets, emergent countries are condemned to flexible exchange rates. However, a high inflation, a dollar debt (the original sin) and a fragile banking structure condemn them to the management. They must pretend to be in a flexible regime and continue to manage their exchange rates. The article thus highlights the fear of floating, the fear of management, the fear of appreciation and the fear of depreciation that characterize exchange rate policies of most emergent countries in an unstable world. JEL codes : F31, O24.