Política monetária via controle de crédito: uma análise para o período pós-metas

The article discusses the effectiveness of the use of the interest rate to control inflation as compared with the use of the credit volume. Since Brazil’s aggregate demand has as its main component the consumption of families, it makes sense to ask whether the interest rate is better to control consumption than the direct control of the credit volume available to consumers. To examine this question, a VAR model was used for the period of the policy of inflation targets. The mains results are that Brazil’s inflation does not seem to be one of demand and that a monetary policy based on the interest rate is more effective than credit to explain the behavior of consumers. Key words: monetary policy, credit, inflation, VAR.