Besnik Fetai

Macroeconomic Policy in the Transition Economies Besnik Fetai

The book addresses the assessment pertaining to monetary and fiscal policy in the Republic of Macedonia. Monetary strategy of targeting the exchange rate can easily become a target of speculative attacks, which can in turn lead to negative impacts for the economy by increases in and fluctuation of the interest rates and the foreign exchange reserves. On the other hand, the unilateral suggestion to shift the exchange rate from a fixed to a more flexible exchange rate, or to depreciate the domestic currency in order to settle the problem of deficit in the current account and consequently to promote rapid economic growth, may easily disturb macroeconomic stabilization without achieving any positive effects in terms of real economic growth in the short term. Regarding fiscal policy, the Republic of Macedonia did not establish and apply fiscal rules, i.e. there were no budget rules based on a determination of the mathematical targets for fiscal deficit, public expenditure, public debt, and public revenue in the medium term, nor was there a rule-based fiscal policy to be adjusted according to cyclical fluctuation of the economy.