Suriname started the period with its exchange rate fixed but some limited monetary policy; it then had a long period of repeated exchange rate adjustments and more or less incoherent monetary policy (plus rising dollarisation), before a gradual process of developing monetary instruments and increasing focus on price stability, punctuated by a brief period of loose exchange rate targeting.
| Years | Targets and attainment | Classification |
| 1974-83 | (full independence from November 1975, but local control of economic policy before that) exchange rate fixed to USD with narrow spreads set by central bank; monetary policy operated via credit ceilings (typically not well observed or enforced), banks free to set interest rates; fiscal deficits mostly financed by bank credit | augmented exchange rate fix AERF |
| 1984-2000 | initially official exchange rate remains fixed but widening parallel market spread in response to growing import licensing and controls, in addition to price and other direct controls; multiple exchange rates from 1992, with average depreciating strongly; parallel market legalised 1993 and interbank market permitted; recurring large fiscal deficits monetarily financed, with inflation peaks in 1987 (>60%), 1995 (>500%), and 1999 (>120%), economic performance also adversely affected by guerrilla activity much of 1980s; government issues savings certificates from 1987, bonds from 1990; exchange rate unified mid-1994, then floated, in context of wider fiscal-monetary stabilisation policies, then stabilised from early 1996, but parallel market continues with varying spreads; gold certificates issued by central bank from 1995, used as monetary policy instrument (together with credit ceilings); growing dollarisation; from 1998 renewed fiscal and monetary expansion and inflation, with widening parallel market spread despite repeated official rate devaluations; weaknesses in key statistical data available | unstructured discretion UD |
| 2001-2010 | new government makes efforts at stabilisation plus some forex liberalisation and financial sector reform; reserve requirements introduced 2001; currency reform 2004; exchange rates reduced to two (plus black market); over time official exchange rate remains pegged to USD while commercial rate is also managed and relatively stable; dollarisation stays high; monetary policy still operated mainly via reserve requirements and forex intervention; inflation peaks lower, 30% in 2003 and 18% in 2008 | loosely structured discretion LSD |
| 2011-15 | exchange rate devalued and unified with introduction of a wide band vs USD; securities and money markets remain very limited, monetary instruments still direct; credit dollarisation down but deposit dollarisation remains high | loose exchange rate targeting LERT |
| 2016-2023 | exchange rate floated March 2016, after devaluation late 2015, in context of sharp commodity price falls; some further depreciation, and short-lived spike in inflation (to > 50%) 2016; treasury bills (long talked of) finally issued 2014 with monthly auctions from May 2016 providing non-monetary financing of fiscal deficits and allowing future shift to OMOs as indirect monetary instrument; move to reserve money targeting 2016, but no standing facilities, no clear fiscal anchor; exchange rate stable from mid-2016 to mid-2018, then rigidly stabilised to mid-2020; new government facing domestic economic crisis plus Covid-19 devalues late 2020, floats currency mid-2021, further depreciations; mid-2021 focus on reserve money, controlled via sales of CDs and term deposits and new standing lending facility; official and parallel exchange rates unified and market-determined; monetary financing of budget banned and moves to strengthen central bank autonomy, with new law 2023; fiscal policy slippages 2022, mostly reversed 2023; statistical database improving but needs further improvements in various dimensions | loosely structured discretion LSD |
Selected IMF references: RED 1975 pp42-4, RED 1979 pp28-8, 41; RED 1982 pp24-5, 39; RED 1984 pp25-6, 41; RED 1985 pp26-9; RED 1986 pp1, 24-5, 38; RED 1987 pp1-2, 21-2; SR 1987 pp1-3, 9-11; RED 1990 pp32-4; RED 1992 p7; RED 1993 pp26-7; SUR 1993 pp3, 8-9; RED 1994 pp22-6; SUR 1994 pp3-4; REDSI 1997 pp14, 16, 21-2; SR 1999 pp4, 5, 12-14; RED 2001 pp7-8, 20-7; SR 2002 p17; SISA 2003 pp14-19; SI 2005 pp13-18, 22-8, 34; SR 2005 pp5-6, 16-17; SR 2008 pp14, 19; SR 2009 pp14-15; SR 2011 pp10-11; SR 2012 pp11-12; SISS 2013 pp7-12; SR 2016 pp5, 14-17; SR 2018 pp12, 14-16; SI 2019 pp6-7, 9-12; SR 2019 pp4-5, 7, 11-13, 61-4; Request for EFF … December 2021 pp4-7, 16-18, 21-2; 2nd Review under EFF … June 2023 pp4-5, 12-16, 18; 6th Review under EFF … June 2024 pp4-5, 11-13, 15.
Other references: Fritz-Krockow et al. (2009).
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Monetary Policy Frameworks 