NATIONAL MONETARY POLICIES AND INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC GROWTH
National economies around the world are more dependent on one another than at any time in the past. The increasing globalization of the economic sphere of life has ushered in a period wherein monetary policies implemented by a major industrial power affect not only the national economy of that specific country, but also affect the level and character of economic activity in all other countries. For almost three years, economic activity has been stagnant in the world's largest industrial economies. For the most part, the industrial countries have not acted in unison to develop and implement monetary policies to deal with the situation. Rather, the separate countries have developed and implemented monetary policy on national bases in attempts to deal with their own urgent problems. In the process, these policy interventions have often exerted undesirable pressures on the international economy.
This research examines the character of the monetary policies implemented by the major industrial countries during the 1990s primarily in 1993, together with the resulting measures of economic activity over the 12 month period November 1992 October 1993. Monetary policies are discussed and measures of economic performance are presented.
Monetary Policies andEconomic Performance
A total of six national economies are included in this analysis Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Sweden, and the United States. Each country is discussed separately. Australia
Financial sector deregulation has been implemented in Australia over the past year. Monetary policy emphasized interest rates and money supply management. Interest rates (as reflected in the prime commercial rate) were stable at 10 percent from November 1992 through March 1993, when they dropped to 9.5 percent. Interest rates dropped further to nine percent in August 1993, where they remained through October 19...