Monetary Policy
BoE economist warns of tendency to ‘overstate’ fiscal multipliers
Matthias Paustian says simple Keynesian models can produce unrealistically high fiscal multiplier when examining fiscal policy at the zero lower bound
Fed’s Lockhart advocates ‘wait and watch’ approach to asset purchases
Atlanta Fed president acknowledges risks surrounding ever more quantitative easing, but says purchases should not diminish until it is clear the economy has traction
Israel annual report sees growth and inflation fall
Growth rate declines by 1.5% in 2012 but unemployment remains stable; inflation falls below target as schooling and mobile phone prices fall
Barbadian governor proposes adopting new policy rate
DeLisle Worrell and other senior central bank staff suggest adopting three-month Treasury bill rate as key policy rate, saying it is more practical for small, open economies
IMF calls on Hungary to safeguard central bank independence
The Fund's executive board urges National Bank of Hungary to preserve legal and operational independence; encourages a 'pause' in monetary easing
RBA governor sees scope for further monetary easing
Glenn Stevens explains rate hold at 3%, but says there is scope for further easing as growth undershoots target
Bundesbank research finds strong role for China in global inflation dynamics
Discussion paper weighs cross-border effects of supply and demand shocks in China; results suggest Chinese shocks explain an average of 5% of total inflation across countries
Fed doves disagree over FOMC's next move
Boston Fed’s Rosengren sees scope to continue asset purchases at current rate throughout 2013; Cleveland Fed’s Pianalto wants to slow programme down if labour market improvements hold
McKinnon says Fed must raise rates to stimulate growth and employment
Leading academic says positive real interest rates are the only way out of a credit crunch that's holding back lending to the productive economy
Fed ‘stimulus’ chokes indirect finance to SMEs
Low interest rates in the US are crowding out indirect finance to SMEs and distorting financial markets generally. The Fed needs to act by raising rates to 2%, argues Ronald McKinnon
Michael Woodford backs combining nominal GDP and inflation target
Leading monetary policy theorist advocates immediate fiscal transfer to the public, funded by central bank purchase of government debt, coupled with adoption of nominal GDP target
Riksbank submits account of monetary policy 2012
Report on last year's actions submitted to parliament to assess Riksbank performance
Bundesbank researchers test if higher inflation could ease public debt burden
Paper finds 'minor effect' on public debt from a raised inflation target, and would only be felt over a long time-frame
Osborne defends new Bank of England remit
George Osborne defends changes to Bank of England’s remit; UK economists say the finance minister has shifted the burden for stimulating growth on to the central bank
Bernanke denies QE represents competitive devaluation
Fed chairman plays down effect of asset purchases on exchange rates and emerging markets; Axel Weber says countries can lean against QE if necessary, but highlights more serious flaws
Fed working paper measures FOMC comms effect against theory of UIP
Paper finds 'little evidence' for a changed relationship between FOMC announcements and US interest rates since the 'onset of the zero lower bound'
Kuroda uncompromising on deflation
New Bank of Japan governor says the central bank will need to expand its asset purchase programme and firmly communicate its commitment to raising inflation
ECB paper finds initial response to financial crisis was not good enough
Working paper suggests policy up to end of 2011 was insufficient to reduce credit availability problems for small businesses, underlining the importance of more recent innovations
Vietnam slashes rates in bid to kick-start economy
Central bank cites stable macro environment as it cuts policy rates by 100bp in an attempt to stimulate productive activity
Icelandic finance minister backs euro switch
Katrín Júlíusdóttir says adopting euro could help to restrain inflation and boost investment; Central Bank of Iceland publishes annual report
Central Bank of Egypt hikes rates as reserves dwindle and inflation rises
Monetary Policy Committee agrees 50 basis point rise despite ‘feeble’ growth, as inflation shows highest rise since 2010 and reserves fall to critical levels
Nominal GDP dismissed as viable policy target in Central Banking debate
Former Bank of England officials argue against adopting a nominal GDP target for monetary policy; economist Gabriel Stein brands it ‘absolute madness’
CNB paper formulates optimal policy for transition to euro
Working paper examines how Czech monetary policy should respond to uncertainty during the transition to the euro; finds exchange rate should be stabilised if transition is likely to be long
Former BoE deputy backs dual mandate for UK central bank
Former Bank of England deputy governor says central bank remit changes in UK budget yesterday were ‘disappointing’; advocates switch to a dual mandate targeting growth and inflation