IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/123716.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Stabilization programs in chronic-inflation countries: Evidence from Latin America

Author

Listed:
  • Palazzo, Gabriel
  • Rapetti, Martin
  • Waldman, Joaquin

Abstract

Chronic inflation has affected Latin America for decades, leading to many stabilization attempts. We develop a novel database with 46 stabilization/disinflation programs across 13 Latin American countries between 1970-2020. We classify them as failures, temporary stabilizations, and lasting stabilizations to study their differences. Our main findings are: 1) programs have failed to stabilize very often; 2) the nominal exchange rate acts as a de facto anchor, decelerating faster than inflation; meaning that the real exchange rate appreciates during stabilization; 3) lasting stabilizations begin with stronger fiscal and balance of payments (BoP) positions; 4) lasting stabilizations are preceded by BoP and fiscal adjustments associated with high GDP contractions; 5) lasting stabilizations keep fiscal accounts balanced for several years after programs are launched; 6) stabilizations typically boost economic growth in the short run; 7) the current account of the BoP worsens during the stabilization process; 8) temporary stabilizations are interrupted by domestic currency depreciations; and 9) many stabilization experiences end up in currency crises despite their success in ending chronic inflation.

Suggested Citation

  • Palazzo, Gabriel & Rapetti, Martin & Waldman, Joaquin, 2025. "Stabilization programs in chronic-inflation countries: Evidence from Latin America," MPRA Paper 123716, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:123716
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/123716/1/MPRA_paper_123716.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    inflation; stabilization programs; Latin America;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E63 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Comparative or Joint Analysis of Fiscal and Monetary Policy; Stabilization; Treasury Policy
    • E65 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Studies of Particular Policy Episodes
    • N16 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Latin America; Caribbean

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:123716. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.