This paper presents an empirical analysis that is useful for the task of characterizing the dynamic structure and causal orderings of the underlying nacroeconametric model of a fixed-exchange-rate economy. In the course of the analysis key hypotheses embodied in the current theoretical and empirical literature on macroeconomic models for open economies are econometrically formulated and tested. Such hypotheses are related to issues like: the pattern of transmission of international disturbances into an open economy, the phenomenon of 'imported" inflation, the degree of implementation of sterilization policies, and many others. Although the present paper does not focus on a particular Latin-American economy, the analysis is certainly relevant for macro-economic modeling of Latin American countries. In fact, it is planned to apply the paper's methodology to the case of several of these countries.