Introduction: Exchange Rates, Capital Flows, and Commercial Policies in Transition Economies

Abstract

Exchange rate movements in all transition economies have followed a similar time path, with a sharp depreciation followed by gradual real appreciation. Such a time path is rather surprising given the differences in monetary and real shocks that these countries have encountered. This introduction and this symposium examine critically whether this time path of the exchange rates can be viewed as a gradual approach to these countries' equilibrium exchange rates and whether we can deduce these equilibrium exchange rates from purchasing power parity exchange rates computed for these countries.J. Comp. Econom.,December 1998, 26(4), pp. 613–620. Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-3806