INTEREST-RATES AND EXCHANGE-RATES UNDER MONEY SUPPLY TARGETS - THE SWISS EVIDENCE

Short-term effects of monetary policy on interest rates and exchange rates are evaluated with monthly and daily data for Switzerland from 1974 to 1991. During this period, the Swiss National Bank generally pursued a policy of targeting the money supply. Some evidence in favor of liquidity effects on interest rates is found. The influence of changes in monetary aggregates is, however, not very strong both in terms of magnitude and explanatory power, and depends on the time period investigated. Exchange rates do not react systematically to monetary policy actions.