External shocks and monetary policy

One goal of this paper is to discussing the macroeconomic impact that an international commodity prices boom has in a small open economy under perfect capital mobility. A Mundell-Fleming model with some adaptations is used for the analysis of this real external shock. There are two effects: the monetary one that is a recessionary impulse, and the one that increases aggregate demand. Also the macroeconomic impact of a real external shock is compared with the effect of a financial external shock (changes in the external rate of interest), in a dollarized economy with a floating exchange rate. The other goal of this paper is to show that central bank sterilized intervention in the foreign exchange market can be an effective policy response to copy with real o financial external shocks. The macroeconomic impact of external shocks depends upon the economic structure, the monetary and fiscal policy mix, and the exchange rate regime.