Varieties of state interventionism in financial policy in the aftermath of the 2008 global crisis

Abstract

Thanks to lessons learned and reforms implemented after the financial crises of the late 1990s, most emerging market economies proved relatively resilient to the 2008 global crisis. Yet to cope with the turbulence that ensued, several interventions by monetary authorities in foreign exchange and capital markets were carried out. The literature on Latin American financial systems and central bank reform tends to emphasize international actors and pressures as key determinants of policy change. In contrast, this paper raises the hypothesis that domestic concerns were the main drivers of financial policymaking after the 2008 crisis even in countries with different institutional arrangements and macroeconomic trajectories such as Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. Through a comparative case study analysis, it is concluded that indeed the three countries’ approaches to exchange markets and capital controls contradicted international perceptions and even the IMF’s stance on foreign exchange policies and the management of capital flows. By pursuing more autonomy and responding to domestic priorities, each of the three countries adopted different policy measures.