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Evaluating the new Maldivian exchange rate system The number of countries switching to flexible or floating exchange rate system is increasing over the last decades. The adjustments were also brought to the Maldives on April 10, 2011 after the different exchange regimes for the past years. The Maldivian government declared the new exchange rate of the ruffiya within a band of fluctuation of 20 percent around 12.85, allowing the US dollar to be traded in the range between RF10.28 and RF15.42. Although some people in the society sustain the change saying that the change will help to overcome the economic crisis in Maldives while others oppose the idea saying that the change will lead to the rise in inflation. To begin with, it is important to know what the exchange rate system is. The exchange rate in its simplest form is the price of one country’s currency expressed as another country’s currency. Say for example, if you are traveling to Sri Lanka and the exchange rate for U.S dollars 1:109, which means for each U.S dollar, you have to buy one hundred and nine rupees. Just like the price of a good, the exchange rate is the price at which you buy the currency. There are three major types of exchange rate systems that play an enormous role in the country’s economy. One basic system is floating or flexible system. According to Steven M. Suranovic 1997-2009, “a floating exchange rate system occurs when the value of a country’s currency is determined by the supply and demand for that currency in exchange for another in a private market operated by major international bank”. This system is also known as dirty float or managed float. In these systems, the government or the central bank intervenes to change the value of the currency. The United States, Canada, Australia and Britain currently operate flexible exchange rate systems. The other major system is

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