Alternatives to stabilization: gradualismo, dollarization, and populism

ABSTRACT The paper discusses the issues involved in three different varieties of stabilization plans: gradualism, dollarization, and social pacts. It is argued that the efficiency of each alternative depends upon special conditions pertaining, by and large to the dynamics of price fixing in the Brazilian economy. Shock alternatives in particular, namely, price freezes or pre-fixing schemes, are said to have their usefulness attached to “backwards looking” price fixing behavior. Gradual strategies, on the other hand, especially when unambiguously orthodox, are said to be more efficient when “forward looking” behavior is adopted by price setters. The paper also discusses the conditions for the application of an Argentinean type dollarization in Brazil and also institutional peculiarities affecting the feasibility of “social pacts” in Brazil.