Research

The Eurosystem, the Union and beyond

The European Central Bank on 27 December published a collection of contributions made on the occasion of the ECB colloquium "The Eurosystem, the Union and Beyond - The single currency and implications for governance", which was held in honour of Tommaso…

ECB paper The timing of central bank communication

This European Central Bank Working Paper explores whether there are systematic patterns as to when members of the decision-making committees of the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the ECB communicate with the public, and under what circumstances…

IMF Paper: Debt overhang or debt irrelevance?

The IMF Working Paper 'Debt overhang or debt irrelevance? Revisiting the debt growth link' published December 2005 asks whether Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) suffer from a debt overhang. Is debt relief going to improve their growth rates, it…

Foreign exchange reserves in emerging Asia

The Bank of Canada Working Paper "An empirical analysis of foreign exchange reserves in emerging Asia" published December 2005 asks how far is the current level of US-dollar foreign exchange reserves held by Asian central banks from that predicted by the…

Paper on central bank research, 1990-2003

The Bank of Canada Working Paper "Quantity, quality, and relevance: Central bank research, 1990-2003" published December 2005 documents the research output of 34 central banks from 1990 to 2003, and use proxies of research inputs to measure the research…

IMF Paper on capital account liberalization

The IMF Working Paper "Capital account liberalization, capital flow patterns, and policy responses in the EU's new member states" discusses the experience of the EU's eight new member countries (EU8) between 1995 and 2003 when the bulk of capital account…

ECB paper: Near-rational exuberance

This ECB Working Paper published November 2005 studies how the use of judgement or "add-factors" in macroeconomic forecasting may disturb the set of equilibrium outcomes when agents learn using recursive methods.

How should central banks communicate?

This European Central Bank Working Paper published on 25 November shows that central bank communication is a key determinant of the market's ability to anticipate monetary policy decisions and the future path of interest rates.

Lessons from Italian monetary unification

This Working Paper, published November 2005, examines whether the states brought together in the Italian monetary union of the nineteenth century constituted an optimum monetary area, either before or after unification.

Financial supervision & central bank independence

The Working Paper "Financial supervision fragmentation and central bank independence: The two sides of the same coin?" analyses how the central banks role in the monetary institutional setting can affect the unification process of the overall financial…

Evolving perceptions of the European Central Bank

The New York Fed Staff Report 'Establishing credibility: Evolving perceptions of the European Central Bank' published November 2005 presents an empirical framework that uses high-frequency data to test for persistent variation in market perceptions of…

Central banks as agents of economic development

In the last two decades, there has been a global sea change in the theory and practice of central banking. The neoliberal central bank policy package is drastically out of step with the history and dominant practice of central banking throughout most of…

IMF central bank governance survey

An IMF survey of governance boards and management structures at central banks by JoAnne Morris and Tonny Lybek identifies "issues to consider when designing the structure, size, and composition of the governing boards and management of a central bank".

Estimating China's 'equilibrium' real ex rate

This IMF Working Paper looks at a sample of studies that have attempted to estimate the "equilibrium" real value of China's currency. It suggests the wide variation in such estimates can be explained by various factors including the different…

IMF Paper on international reserves

The IMF Working Paper "International reserves: Precautionary vs. mercantilist views, theory, and evidence" compares the importance of precautionary and mercantilist motives in the hoarding of international reserves by developing countries.

Legal aspects of European System of Central Banks

The European Central Bank published a book on Wednesday 26 October . The book contains a collection of articles on the European Union and the ESCB, the Eurosystem, monetary law, central bank independence and central bank statutes as well as on financial…

NY Fed Staff Paper on Treasury securities

The U.S. Treasury announced in August 2005 that it is exploring whether to provide a backstop securities lending facility for U.S. Treasury securities. The New York Fed Staff Paper "Why is the U.S. Treasury contemplating becoming a lender of last resort…