A comprehensive classification of monetary policy frameworks in advanced and emerging economies

The paper presents a new classification of monetary policy frameworks that it applies to advanced and emerging economies for the period since the end of the Bretton Woods international monetary system, with a focus on the monetary authorities' objectives (domestic and external), and on pre-announced targets and actual performance. The classification (available at www.monetaryframeworks.org) also emphasizes the underlying monetary and financial infrastructure that conditions the instruments available to the authorities and, therefore, the coherence of different frameworks. It is constructed mainly from a close reading of IMF Article IV consultation reports. The two major changes revealed by the data are the trends over time towards a heavier focus on inflation, and towards more systematic and coherent monetary arrangements.