ECON 122 Economic Development of Latin America

In the last decades of the XX century, Latin America used to be plagued by large macroeconomic imbalances: hyperinflations, large exchange rate depreciation, low growth and debt defaults. This changed dramatically in the last few years. This course emphasizes the role of monetary policy in this process. Starting with the LA hyperinflationary experiences, we will study the stabilization processes, and the evolution until nowadays. A few of the topics covered: exchange rate regimes (fix x floating), monetary policy regimes (inflation rate targeting), public debt management, macroprudential policies (including capital controls) and financial sector development. The coverage will be biased towards the Brazilian experience. Prerequisites: 50, 102B.

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