Taking Stock of Monetary and Exchange Regimes in Emerging Europe
08 March 2017 4:00 pm CET
Johannes Wiegand, IMF Research Department
Venue
wiiw, Rahlgasse 3, 1060 Vienna, lecture hall (entrance from the ground floor)
Description
A full quarter century after the transition from socialism, almost every type of monetary and exchange rate regime can be found in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE): from free floating and inflation targeting over various soft and hard pegs to the unilateral use of the euro and full euro area membership. Why are CESEE’s monetary regimes the way they are? How have they performed, and what makes a regime “right” for a country? Looking ahead, how can monetary regimes assist in addressing the economic challenges countries are likely to face? If a country’s current exchange rate regime seems suboptimal, could it switch, and how?
Johannes Wiegand is Deputy Chief of the Open-Economy Macroeconomics Division in the IMF’s Research Department. He worked previously in the IMF’s European Department as Deputy Chief of the Emerging Economies Division; Mission Chief for Croatia and Kosovo; and Desk Officer for Hungary during the financial crisis. Prior to joining the IMF, Mr. Wiegand taught at the London School of Economics and wrote leaders for the Financial Times and Financial Times Deutschland. He holds a PhD in Economics from University College, London.