A Decade of Inflation Targeting in Chile: Developments, Lessons, and Challenges

Abstract

Chile was among the first countries in the world to adopt a monetary framework based on an explicit, publicly announced, annual inflation target, when the term "inflation targeting" had not been even formalized. The country’s inflationary past suggested to combine tough inflation targeting parameters (to enhance the Central Bank’s reputation) and a gradual transition from moderately high inflation to a long-run inflation goal of 3%. After attaining this long-run objective in 1999 and a reputation of inflation-averse, the Central Bank of Chile has moved toward flexibility along the credibility-flexibility trade-off. Finally, having a third objective in the form of an asymmetric threshold for the current-account deficit was reflected in some episodes during which the implicit short-run output stabilization objective was made less important. Notwithstanding the success in reducing inflation during the 90s, without apparently paying real costs, the current inflation target regime faces a few challenges in its quest for keeping a low and stable inflation.