Adam Posen, a soon-to-be member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, on Tuesday warned the explicit symmetrical structure of many inflation targets may underestimate the damage caused by deflation.

In a written response to questions posed by the Treasury Select Committee, an influential group of British lawmakers, Posen said: "There remains reason to think that undershooting a 2% inflation target has somewhat greater costs and risks to real economic output and employment than