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Capital Controls and Foreign Exchange Policy

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  • Marcel Fratzscher

Abstract

The empirical analysis of the paper suggests that an FX policy objective and concerns about an overheating of the domestic economy have been the two main motives for the (re)introduction and persistence of capital controls over the past decade. Capital controls are strongly associated with countries having significantly undervalued exchange rates. Capital controls also appear to be less motivated by worries about financial market volatility or fickle capital flows per se, but rather by concerns about capital inflows triggering an overheating of the economy – in the form of high credit growth, rising inflation and output volatility. Moreover, countries with a high level of capital controls, and those actively implementing controls, tend to be those that have fixed exchange rate regimes, a non-IT monetary policy regime and shallow financial markets. This evidence is consistent with capital controls being used, at least in part, to compensate for the absence of autonomous macroeconomic and prudential policies and effective adjustment mechanisms for dealing with capital flows.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcel Fratzscher, 2012. "Capital Controls and Foreign Exchange Policy," Journal Economía Chilena (The Chilean Economy), Central Bank of Chile, vol. 15(2), pages 66-98, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:chb:bcchec:v:15:y:2012:i:2:p:66-98
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    Cited by:

    1. Forbes, Kristin & Fratzscher, Marcel & Straub, Roland, 2015. "Capital-flow management measures: What are they good for?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(S1), pages 76-97.
    2. Blaise Gadanecz & Ken Miyajima & Jörg Urban, 2014. "How might EME central banks respond to the influence of global monetary factors?," BIS Papers chapters, in: Bank for International Settlements (ed.), The transmission of unconventional monetary policy to the emerging markets, volume 78, pages 45-69, Bank for International Settlements.
    3. Radhika Pandey & Gurnain K. Pasricha & Ila Patnaik & Ajay Shah, 2021. "Motivations for capital controls and their effectiveness," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(1), pages 391-415, January.
    4. Cantú, Carlos, 2019. "Effects of capital controls on foreign exchange liquidity," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 201-222.
    5. Taeyoon Sung & Jong-Hee Kim, 2016. "Unconventional Monetary Policy, Global Liquidity Circulation, and Inflation Divergence around the World," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 54(1), pages 6-26, March.
    6. Escudé, Guillermo J., 2014. "The possible trinity: Optimal interest rate, exchange rate, and taxes on capital flows in a DSGE model for a small open economy," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 8, pages 1-58.
    7. Valerio Nispi Landi & Alessandro Schiavone, 2021. "The Effectiveness of Capital Controls," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 183-211, February.
    8. Binici, Mahir & Das, Mitali, 2021. "Recalibration of capital controls: Evidence from the IMF taxonomy," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    9. Gurnain Kaur Pasricha, 2017. "Policy Rules for Capital Controls," BIS Working Papers 670, Bank for International Settlements.
    10. Beckmann, Joscha & Ademmer, Esther & Belke, Ansgar & Schweickert, Rainer, 2017. "The political economy of the impossible trinity," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 103-123.
    11. Das, Mitali & Ordal, Hailey, 2022. "Macroeconomic stability or financial stability: How are capital controls used? Insights from a new database," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    12. Phornchanok Cumperayot & Roy Kouwenberg, 2021. "Cheaper currencies and long‐term growth: The effect of exchange rate management and capital controls," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(9), pages 2738-2757, September.
    13. Phornchanok Cumperayot Kouwenberg & Roy Kouwenberg, 2016. "Currency Wars: Who Gains from the Battle?," PIER Discussion Papers 18, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.
    14. Aizenman, Joshua & Pasricha, Gurnain Kaur, 2013. "Why do emerging markets liberalize capital outflow controls? Fiscal versus net capital flow concerns," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 28-64.
    15. Miguel Fuentes D. & Claudio E. Raddatz K. & Carmen María Reinhart., 2015. "Capital mobility and monetary policy: an overview," Journal Economía Chilena (The Chilean Economy), Central Bank of Chile, vol. 18(1), pages 50-66, April.
    16. Giordani, Paolo E. & Ruta, Michele & Weisfeld, Hans & Zhu, Ling, 2017. "Capital flow deflection," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 102-118.
    17. David KRIZEK & Josef BRCAK, 2021. "Support for export as a non-standard Central Bank policy: foreign exchange interventions in the case of the Czech Republic," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 12, pages 191-218, June.
    18. Filippo Gori & Etienne Lepers & Caroline Mehigan, 2024. "Capital flow deflection under the magnifying glass," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(3), pages 3758-3778, July.
    19. Chokri Zehri, 2022. "Interaction Effect of Capital Controls and Macroeconomic Policies," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 41(1), pages 15-33, March.
    20. Phornchanok Cumperayot & Roy Kouwenberg, 2016. "Currency Wars: Who Gains from the Battle?," PIER Discussion Papers 18., Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research, revised Feb 2016.
    21. Muhammad Imran & Abdul Rashid, 2023. "The Empirical Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment Episodes," Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, Emerging Markets Forum, vol. 15(3), pages 409-435, September.

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    JEL classification:

    • F30 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - General
    • F31 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Exchange

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