THE MONETARY POLICY OF THE BANK OF LATVIA IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CURRENT CRISIS AND THE PROSPECTS FOR LATVIA'S ACCESSION TO THE EUROZONE

The goal of the paper is assessment of the nature and efficiency of monetary policy of the Bank of Latvia considering the current crisis and the prospects of joining the Euro zone by Latvia in 2014. The paper comprises the systematization and evaluation of pros and cons of the Bank of Latvia refusal to provide active monetary policy; it also supports the finding about high social and economic cost of internal devaluation strategy for population and the conclusion about the growth of dependence of Latvia from system risks in the process of joining the Euro zone. The paper demonstrates the connection of monetary policy nature and general economic policy, the interests of dominating social and economic groups, the political priorities of Latvia for maximal integration into the European Union.