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Macroeconomic Stability in Developing Countries: How Much Is Enough?

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  • Peter Montiel
  • Luis Servén
Abstract
Over the 1990s macroeconomic policies improved in most developing countries, but the growth dividend from this improvement fell short of expectations, and a policy agenda focused on stability turned out to be associated with a multiplicity of financial crises. This article examines the contents and implementation of the macroeconomic reform agenda of the 1990s. It reviews the progress achieved through fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate policies across the developing world and the effectiveness of the changing policy framework in promoting stability and growth. The main lesson is that more often than not slow growth and frequent crises resulted from shortcomings in the reform agenda of the 1990s. These concern limitations in the depth and scope of the reform agenda, its lack of attention to macroeconomic vulnerabilities, and its inadequate attention to complementary reforms outside the macroeconomic sphere. Copyright 2006, Oxford University Press.

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  • Peter Montiel & Luis Servén, 2006. "Macroeconomic Stability in Developing Countries: How Much Is Enough?," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 21(2), pages 151-178.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:wbrobs:v:21:y:2006:i:2:p:151-178
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    4. DemIr, FIrat, 2009. "Capital Market Imperfections and Financialization of Real Sectors in Emerging Markets: Private Investment and Cash Flow Relationship Revisited," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 953-964, May.
    5. Christian E. Weller & Ghazal Zulfiqar, 2013. "Financial Market Diversity and Macroeconomic Stability," Working Papers wp332, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    6. Francis X. Diebold & Kamil Yılmaz, 2007. "Macroeconomic Volatility and Stock Market Volatility,World-Wide," Koç University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum Working Papers 0711, Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum.
    7. Vu Manh Hoai Nguyen & Tin Huu Ho & Luan Huynh Nguyen & An Thi Ha Pham, 2023. "The Impact of Trade Openness on Economic Stability in Asian Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-20, July.
    8. Puyana, Alicia., 2011. "Economic growth, employment and poverty reduction : a comparative analysis of Chile and Mexico," ILO Working Papers 994629623402676, International Labour Organization.
    9. Šimpach Ondřej & Langhamrová Jitka, 2013. "Forecasting Future Salaries in the Czech Republic Using Stochastic Modelling," Business Systems Research, Sciendo, vol. 4(2), pages 4-125, December.
    10. Rabia Haroon & Zainab Jehan, 2022. "Measuring the impact of violence on macroeconomic instability: evidence from developing countries," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 21(1), pages 3-30, January.
    11. Firat Demir, 2009. "Financialization and Manufacturing Firm Profitability under Uncertainty and Macroeconomic Volatility: Evidence from an Emerging Market," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(4), pages 592-609, November.
    12. Bodunrin, Olalekan Samuel, 2016. "The Impact of Fiscal and Monetary Policy on Nigerian Economic Growth," MPRA Paper 92811, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Durmus Cagri Yildirim & Tugba Turan, 2023. "Revisiting of Interest Rate Channel: Nonlinear transmission of Monetary Policy Shocks to the Turkish Economy," Journal of Central Banking Theory and Practice, Central bank of Montenegro, vol. 12(1), pages 199-223.
    14. Abbott, Philip & Andersen, Thomas Barnebeck & Tarp, Finn, 2010. "IMF and economic reform in developing countries," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 17-26, February.
    15. OGUN, Oluremi, 2018. "Output Fluctuations in Nigeria," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 71(4), pages 465-502.
    16. Demir, Firat, 2007. "Private Investment, Portfolio Choice and Financialization of Real Sectors in Emerging Markets," MPRA Paper 3835, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Jul 2007.
    17. Eduardo Wiesner, 2008. "The Political Economy of Macroeconomic Policy Reform in Latin America," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 12913.

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