Target zone interventions and coordination of expectations

Abstract

Foreign exchange markets display regularly severe bubbles. This paper explores whether or not the so-called target zone interventions are an effective tool for central banks to stabilize the exchange rate. We define such intervention operations as buying/selling an undervalued/overvalued currency when the distance between the exchange rate and its fundamental value exceeds a critical threshold value. On the basis of a nonlinear empirical exchange rate model with chartists and fundamentalists, we find that not only target zone interventions have the power to reduce misalignments but also to earn profits.