Although Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries abandoned fixed
exchange rates in 1997, some economists questioned whether such a policy would
be in their best interest in the long term. Their reasoning was that these economies
were relatively small and wide open to international trade and investment flows.
Moreover, inflation rates were modest by the standards of a developing country,
and labor markets were relatively flexible. In other words, floating exchange rates
were probably not the best long-term option. Indeed, these economists maintained
that unless the Southeast Asian governments anchored their currencies to something,
their currencies might drift into a vicious cycle of depreciation and higher
inflation. There was certainly a concern that central banks in the region lacked the
credibility to enforce tough monetary policies without the external constraint of a
fixed exchange rate. Simply put, neither fixed exchange rates nor floating exchange
rates offer a magical solution. What really makes a difference to a country’s prospects
is the quality of its overall economic policies.