Crescimento dos fluxos de capital e desenvolvimento: uma visão geral das questões de política econômica

Abstract

Latin America has enjoyed a booming expansion of capital flows during 1991193. These inflows overcame a binding external constraint that was contributing to low investment levels and to a severe economic recession in the region. Nevertheless, these inflows have also had an unwelcome effect on the evolution of exchange rates, the degree of control over the money supply, and, possibly, future vulnerability to new external shocks. This article reviews the conceptual foundations of the role of external capital flows in development and the issue of capital account opening (Section 2), focuses on the sources of the recent boom in capital flows and some of the policy implications that emerge from the supply side (Section 3), and appraises the current impact of these capital flows on the economies of Latin America and the policy implications (Section 4). Capital flows are clearly a crucial instrument in economic development. However, the intertemporal character of financial transactions and incompleteness of markets contribute to making finance one of the most imperfectly functioning in the market economy. Hence, improved information, financial sector regulation and broad prudential macro management of financial flows constitutes a public good for which there is a shared role for governments on the supply side (creditor nations) and on the demand side (debtor nations).