Central Banking Journal
All that glitters – Surveying central banks on gold reserves
Key survey data and comments reinforce the main findings in Invesco’s central bank reserve management white paper on the revival of gold as a reserve asset.
How gold has regained its shine
In a year of exceptional circumstances – especially true for gold, which, in August, saw an all-time high price – Invesco explores how pandemic-driven uncertainty has returned the precious metal to the spotlight of the global monetary system.
Book notes: Austerity, by Alberto Alesina, Carlo Favero and Francesco Giavazzi
When it works and when it doesn’t; every chapter is thorough, informative and persuasive
Georgia’s Gvenetadze on implementing an aggressive reform agenda
The National Bank of Georgia governor speaks about efforts to improve monetary policy, financial infrastructure, financial literacy, transparency and ESG
Frank Smets on the ECB’s strategy review
The ECB’s DG of economics explains how expectations, communication, fiscal dominance, climate change and the Fed’s actions will be factored into the ECB’s delayed strategy review
The Central Banking Awards 2020 virtual ceremony
View the trophy presentations and acceptance comments from all the winners recognised in the seventh annual Central Banking Awards
Book notes: Money, by Geoffrey Ingham
The incompatible theories of money: Ingham reveals the fundamental clash of ideas that shape the environment in which all central banks operate
Fed’s new framework splits opinion
Former Fed officials offer mixed reactions to average inflation targeting, with most calling for the US central bank to refine its communication
Beyond climate: addressing the ‘E’ in ESG
Environmental degradation raises fundamental questions about how central banks think about risk; efforts to expand focus beyond climate risks now under way
Is there a rift in the ECB governing council?
Mixed messages from Christine Lagarde were followed by sharp divergence among board members
Book notes: Quest for restoring financial stability in India, by Viral Acharya
A definitive contribution to the political economy of central banking in emerging economies, but Acharya does not acknowledge the challenges moving forward
Klaas Knot on ECB policy-making, the FSB and central bank ‘capture’
DNB president talks about the temporary nature of unconventional policies, the importance of inflation target ‘bands’, the role of central banks as ‘circuit-breakers’ and ECB decision-making under Christine Lagarde
Official institutions lead the Covid‑19 recovery charge
Tested by the Covid-19 pandemic, market consensus is that official institutions have been instrumental in mitigating market disruption. As economies work out how to adapt to a post-lockdown world, major public bodies are likely to play a key role in the…
The eurozone’s eastern conundrum
Bulgaria and Croatia expect a net positive effect as they take final steps to join the euro, while the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland remain reluctant
James Bullard on the Fed’s policy review, FSOC and forecasting jobs data
St Louis Fed president discusses his support for average inflation targeting, his concerns about US Treasuries market function, non-bank regulatory weakness and negative rates, as well as the unexpected success in using Homebase data to predict highly…
Covid-19 policy-making and the need for high-speed data
High-frequency data holds the promise of speed and adaptability, but the rush to find alternative economic indicators has the potential to create problems
Book notes: The menace of fiscal QE, by George Selgin
Much of this book is even more relevant, thought-provoking and important following Covid-19
Book notes: Radical uncertainty, by Mervyn King and John Kay
The one certainty we have faced is that we have to confront uncertainty, which is precisely the point of this wonderful book
Computing platforms for big data and AI
Implementing big-data and high-performance computing platforms is critical to support machine learning applications. Rafael Schmidt and Bruno Tissot offer insights on developing a comprehensive information strategy
How will Covid-19 hit central banks’ financial results?
The Covid-19 crisis has affected central bank incomes from seigniorage and other sources. But by how much, ask Zbigniew Polański and Mikołaj Szadkowski
Timothy Lane on CBDCs and why the private sector is no competition for central banks
The Bank of Canada deputy governor discusses the difference between a private-sector-motivated digital currency and a CBDC, and why finding a balance between privacy and regulation is such a challenge
Book notes: The state of economics, the state of the world, edited by Basu, Rosenblatt and Sepúlveda
The 2016 contributions of Nobel Prize-winning economists and others remain relevant to today
The evolving role of central bank money in payments
The line between commercial and central bank money continues to blur, but the multiple-issuer/one-currency paradigm underpinning the current monetary system is set to remain in a CBDC world, write Ulrich Bindseil and Ignacio Terol
Hélène Rey on macro-financial distortions and ‘phase 2’ of Covid-19
The LBS economics professor discusses monetary policy and financial exuberance, debt restructuring, and the use of machine learning to optimise ‘early-warning’ models to inform macro-prudential policy