Training module on monetary policy

Training module on monetary policy

Constraints to pro-poor monetary policy in developing countries

This module outlines the basic principle of pro-poor monetary policy. It seeks to:

  • explain the key features of pro-poor monetary policy, including the basic principles and the main features of pro-poor anti-inflation policy 
  • examine the problems of inflation and stabilisation in developing countries, in the light of orthodox stabilisation programmes and of the specific case of inflation targeting

The author concludes that the most important constraint to the introduction of pro-poor monetary policy strategies in many poor countries is not scarcity of resources or lack of government institutional capacity. Rather, it is the lack of political will to confront the ruling (orthodox) policy consensus and build alternatives based on the joint efforts of governments, progressive economists and civil society