Is Globalization Reducing the Ability of Central Banks to Control Inflation? A Literature Review with an Application to the Euro Area

2016 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Salomon Fiedler ◽  
Nils Jannsen ◽  
Stefan Reitz ◽  
Maik Wolters

AbstractGlobalization influences inflation and the transmission channels of monetary policy in various ways. The effects of globalization on the ability of monetary policy to control inflation have been discussed intensively. However, in the light of recent experiences following the global financial crisis with extended periods of disinflation in many advanced economies, the question whether the ability of monetary policy to control inflation has suffered significantly from increasing globalization has received new relevance. Based on a review of the literature, this paper discusses whether globalization is reducing the ability of central banks to control inflation and draws conclusion for the current situation in the euro area. We find that globalization has made it more complicated for central banks to ensure price stability and that it has tended to reduce the ability of monetary policy to control inflation in the short- to medium-run. However, in principle the ECB is still able to control inflation but may have to tolerate deviations from its inflation target for somewhat longer periods.

Author(s):  
Yilmaz Akyüz

The preceding chapters have examined the deepened integration of emerging and developing economies (EDEs) into the international financial system in the new millennium and their changing vulnerabilities to external financial shocks. They have discussed the role that policies in advanced economies played in this process, including those that culminated in the global financial crisis and the unconventional monetary policy of zero-bound interest rates and quantitative easing adopted in response to the crisis, as well as policies in EDEs themselves....


2010 ◽  
Vol 01 (01) ◽  
pp. 59-80
Author(s):  
PIERRE L. SIKLOS

Until the end of 2005 there were few outward signs that the inflation targeting (IT) monetary policy strategy was deemed fragile or that the likelihood of abandoning it was high. In light of the severe economic downturn and the global financial crisis that has afflicted most economies around the world since at least 2008, it is worth reconsidering the question of the fragility of the inflation targeting regime. This paper reprises the approach followed in Siklos (2008) but adds important new twists. For example, the present study asks whether the continued survival of IT is due to the fact that some of the central banks in question did take account of changes in financial stress. The answer is no. Indeed, many central banks are seen as enablers of rapid asset price increases. The lesson, however, is not that inflation targeting needs to be repaired. Instead, refinements should be considered to the existing inflation targeting strategy which has evolved considerably since it was first introduced in New Zealand 20 years ago. Most notably, there should be continued emphasis on inflation as the primary nominal anchor of monetary policy, especially in emerging market economies (EME), even if additional duties are assigned to central banks in response to recent events.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-135
Author(s):  
Olga Kuznetsova ◽  
Sergey Merzlyakov ◽  
Sergey Pekarski

The global financial crisis of 2007–2009 has changed the landscape for monetary policy. Many central banks in developed economies had to employ various unconventional policy tools to overcome a liquidity trap. These included large-scale asset purchase programs, forward guidance and negative interest rate policies. While recently, some central banks were able to return to conventional monetary policy, for many countries the effectiveness of unconventional policies remains an issue. In this paper we assess diverse practices of unconventional monetary policy with a particular focus on expectations and time consistency. The principal aspect of successful policy in terms of overcoming a liquidity trap is the confidence that interest rates will remain low for a prolonged period. However, forming such expectations faces the problem of time inconsistency of optimal policy. We discuss some directions to solve this problem.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-46
Author(s):  
Andrea Cecrdlova

The latest global crisis, which fully erupted in 2008, can have a significant impact on central banks credibility in the long run. During the last crisis, monetary authorities encountered zero interest rate levels and, as a result, started to use non-standard monetary policy instruments. The Czech National Bank decided to use a less standard instrument in November 2013, when it started to intervene on the foreign exchange market in order to keep the Czech currency at level 27 CZK / EUR. However, the European Central Bank also adopted a non-standard instrument, when chose a path of quantitative easing in 2015 in order to support the euro area economy by purchasing financial assets. The question remains whether the approach of Czech National Bank or the approach of European Central Bank in the crisis and post-crisis period was a more appropriate alternative. With the passage of time from the global financial crisis, it is already possible to compare the approaches of these two central banks and at least partially assess what approach was more appropriate under the given conditions. When comparing the central banks approaches to the crisis, the Czech National Bank was better, both in terms of the rate of interest rate cuts and the resulting inflation with regard to the choice of a non-standard monetary policy instrument. The recent financial crisis has revealed the application of moral hazard in practice, both on behalf of the European Central Bank and the Czech National Bank, which may have a significant impact on their credibility and independence in the coming years.


Author(s):  
Pierre L. Siklos

This chapter explores short-term sources of inflation forecast disagreement in nine advanced economies. Domestic versus global factors among other determinants are considered. The chapter also adapts an idea from the model confidence set approach to obtain a quasi-confidence interval for inflation forecast disagreement. Some forecasters may change their outlook, especially when data are frequently revised (e.g., the output gap). This extension is also considered. Estimates of disagreement are found to be sensitive to the chosen benchmark, and central banks need not always be the benchmark of choice. The range of forecast disagreement can be high even when levels of disagreement are low. There is little evidence that forecasts are strongly coordinated with those of the central bank. Finally, at least over the period considered, which covers the end of the Great Moderation and the global financial crisis, there is consistent evidence that global factors impact forecast disagreement.


2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (01) ◽  
pp. 87-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
PIOTR CIŻKOWICZ ◽  
ANDRZEJ RZOŃCAZ

We survey the possible costs of the unconventional monetary policy measures undertaken by major central banks after the outbreak of the global financial crisis in 2008. We argue that these costs are not easily discernable in the new Keynesian (NK) model, which defines a theoretical framework for monetary policy. First, the costs may result from the effects of unconventional monetary policy measures on the intensity of restructuring and the persistence of uncertainty (which increased after the outbreak of the crisis). However, neither of these processes is considered in the new Keynesian model. Second, costs may be generated not only by distortions in the choices made by economic agents but may also be a result of the decisions made by governments, particularly in terms of the fiscal deficit level. However, the new Keynesian model does not consider the effects of unconventional monetary policy measures on the quality of fiscal policy. Without carefully considering the costs, there is a significant risk that unconventional monetary policy measures could become a conventional response to recurrent crises.


Author(s):  
Stelios Bekiros ◽  
Duc Khuong Nguyen ◽  
Gazi Salah Uddin ◽  
Bo Sjö

AbstractThe introduction of Euro currency was a game-changing event intended to induce convergence of Eurozone business cycles on the basis of greater monetary and fiscal integration. The benefit of participating into a common currency area exceeds the cost of losing autonomy in national monetary policy only in case of cycle co-movement. However, synchronization was put back mainly due to country-specific differences and asymmetries in terms of trade and fiscal policies that became profound at the outset of the global financial crisis. As opposed to previous studies that are mostly based on linear correlation or causality modeling, we utilize the cross-wavelet coherence measure to detect and identify the scale-dependent time-varying (de)synchronization effects amongst Eurozone and the broad Euro area business cycles before and after the financial crisis. Our results suggest that the enforcement of an active monetary policy by the ECB during crisis periods could provide an effective stabilization instrument for the entire Euro area. However, as dynamic patterns in the lead-lag relationships of the European economies are revealed, (de)synchronization varies across different frequency bands and time horizons.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-78
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Szunke

The changes in the modern monetary policy, which took place at the beginning of the twenty-first century, in response to the global financial crisis led to the transformation of the place and the role of central banks. The strategic aim of the central monetary institutions has become preventing financial instability. So far, central banks have defined financial stability as a public good, which took care independently of other monetary purposes (Pyka, 2010). Unconventional monetary policy resulted in changes the global central banking. The aim of the study is to identify a new paradigm of the role and place of the central bank in the financial system and its new responsibilities, aimed at countering financial instability.


Ekonomika ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-56
Author(s):  
Birutė Visokavičienė

Abstract. The main goal of the research is to develop monetary policy tools and measures enabling to achieve macroeconomic goals of integration into the euro area in the immediate future. It is noted that until the introduction of the euro Lithuania does not have a monetary policy and applies the currency board regime pegging the litas invariably to the euro (hard peg regime). Therefore, it is not only difficult but also risky to try to achieve financial and economic stability in accordance with the relevant Maastricht criteria through fiscal policy measures alone. Monetary policy instruments are necessary to achieve price stability and the overall financial stability. Currently, Lithuania should address the problem of balancing the currency board regime and the Maastricht criteria as a macroeconomic objective through monetary policy tools and measures.The analysis of monetary policies of advanced economies and, first of all, of the euro area reveals the main features of transmission of the monetary policy to a real economy, which can contribute to the successful integration into the euro area. A systemic analysis of the monetary policy is based on monetary and economic theories, laws and patterns, scientific literature and empirical studies. The method used is the logical analysis and systemising of academic literature and modelling of the monetary policy. Such a methodological position enables the justification of the influence of the euro and monetary policy on the future development of the national economy.Key words: monetary policy, euro, exchange rate, inflation, indicators


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