The URV and its function of aligning relative prices

ABSTRACT The Real Plan of stabilization was divided into three phases. The first phase concerned problems of fiscal nature: the governmental deficit. The second one, performed from March to June of 1994, purposed to balance relative prices and remunerations. The third step would knock down the inflation. The article’s aim is to discuss if the device introduced in the second step of the Plan, the Unidade Real de Valor (URV), carried out the goal of aiding the Brazilian economy in the discovery of a balanced vector of relative prices. One carries to the conclusion that the URV did not play its role properly and that the Plan, despite this problem, was successful in the initial period of the third step due to other motives - also discussed in the text.

摘要 巴西雷亚尔稳定计划（Real Plan of stabilization）共分为三个阶段。第一阶段聚焦财政性质的问题：政府赤字。第二阶段于1994年3月至6月实施，旨在平衡相对价格与薪酬水平。第三阶段的目标则是抑制通货膨胀。本文旨在探讨该计划第二阶段引入的真实价值单位（Unidade Real de Valor，URV）是否达成了助力巴西经济寻得均衡相对价格向量的目标。研究结论显示，真实价值单位未能充分发挥其应有作用；尽管存在这一缺陷，该计划仍在第三阶段初期取得了成功，其背后的其他动因亦将在本文中予以讨论。