Financial openness and economic policy

Economic policy works via two interrelated areas: changes in supply-demand balances and changes in relative prices. Effectiveness of economic policies then depends on the environment in which a given economy operates. The analysis shows that traditional economic policies of fostering growth via public sector investments crucially depend on the private capital account being closed (practically, on the capital mobility being low). An open capital account requires a different set of policies, aimed at facilitating the functioning of private markets and an increase of domestic private savings. This shift in the policy and growth paradigm constitutes the biggest challenge to the global economic community in the beginning of the 21st century. (JEL P00, F30).