INFLATION TARGETING REGIMES, INSTITUTIONAL FLEXIBILITY AND GROWTH PERFORMANCE: A KEYNESIAN/KALDORIAN PERSPECTIVE IN A DYNAMIC PANEL ANALYSIS

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to investigate if Inflation Targeting Regime (hereafter ITR) institutional design has any relationship with growth performance of ITR countries. The theoretical model to be presented here shows that flexibility in the definition of the target rate of inflation is an important issue for a balanced growth in the long-run. This result supports the main empirical hypothesis of this paper according to which the level of institutional flexibility of an ITR has a positive relationship with output performance of the ITR countries. The empirical results we constructed support the hypothesis that the adoption of core inflation indexes, the establishment of a convergence horizon for targeting longer than the minimum (one year), and the ability of central banks in avoiding target losses are positive factors to preserve a strong and sustainable economic growth of ITR countries.