Resumen de Policy instruments to avoid output collapse: an optimal control model for India
This paper identifies the key policy instruments to be monitored in order to avoid output collapse in the short run for developing countries that come under the IMF-supported adjustment programmes. Changes in exchange rate and aggregate domestic credit are the standard instruments in a Fund-supported policy package used to target balance of payments (BOP) improvement and inflation reduction. Within a small macroeconometric policy-oriented model of India, this paper carries out optimal control exercises to obtain optimal policies for desired targets. The analysis thus carried out indicates that demand contraction based on domestic credit restriction leads to improvement in the BOP and reduction in inflation rather than increased output. This paper suggests using instruments such as credit flow to the private sector on the monetary side, and public spending on basic infrastructure on the fiscal side, so as to make adjustment programmes growth-oriented even in the short term.
