In my previous blog entry, I made the case that both the antecedents of the financial crisis faced by Chile in 1982, as well as the approach taken to resolve it, provide insights for countries such as the US today -suitably adapted by circumstances, size and complexity, of course. Nonetheless, focusing on the fundamental pillars to approach the crisis comprehensively (including fiscal and monetary policies, institutional revamp, financial workouts, regulatory reforms) always ought to be a priority, rather than endless debates about whether one initiative such as a ‘bad bank’, will be the solution.
From its more recent experience, there are further insights from Chile for the Americas. One is Chile’s consistently effective macro-economic management over the past two decades, where fiscal surpluses (a term that appears to have been excised from the US lexicon) have been the order of the day. In fact, ‘best practice’ stabilization funds have permitted a sizeable accumulation of public funds during the ‘fat cow’ years, for judicious use during leaner times.
