MACROECONOMIC CONVERGENCE OF THE CZECH ECONOMY - EFFECTS OF CNB'S EXCHANGE RATE COMMITMENT

Authors are analyzing actual stage of the real and nominal convergence process of the Czech Republic and their mutual relationship in recent years affected by the world financial crisis. As fiscal policy through its structural effects can indirectly influence the real convergence process, and monetary policy is not able to boost economic activity and thus the convergence in the long run, the aim is to evaluate qualitatively contributions of fiscal and monetary policy, including asymmetric exchange rate commitment, to the renewal of real and nominal convergence in the Czech Republic. Analyzing the convergence process authors use a comparison with developments prior to the world financial crisis and also a comparison with the Visegrad group countries as they share similar key structural characteristics. The comparison of countries allows to quantitatively evaluate the contribution of macroeconomic policies, including the CNB's exchange rate commitment, to the renewal of the real convergence process.