The annual total merchandise trade of Latin American countries has grown from $ billion in 1978 to $ billion in 1997. Even adjusted for inflation, this represents nearly a doubling of its trade, allowing the growth of Latin American imports and exports to roughly match the explosion in international trade experienced throughout the world economy during this period.
16 This view is a key aspect of many Committee participants’ reaction functions, including mine. Try saying that without referring to time. The authors acknowledge that the distinction between rules and discretion is too simple to capture the problems that monetary policymakers face. 17 I would say the same of the distinction between time-based and data-based forward guidance.