The adoption of a credible monetary policy regime such as inflation targeting is known to reduce the persistence of inflation fluctuations. This conclusion, however, is derived from aggregate inflation or sectoral inflation rates, not from regional inflation data. This paper studies the regional dimension of inflation targeting, i.e. the consequences of inflation targeting for regional inflatio...

flation expectations. As a nominal anchor, an inflation target also provides a commitment mechanism that increases the accountability of the monetary policy authority. The inflation target communicates to the public the inflation rate at which the central bank will aim in the future. It thus serves as a reference point against which the central bank can be judged. In January 1993 the Sveriges R...

In a Kaleckian monetary distribution and growth model with conflict inflation we assess the role of a Non Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment (NAIRU). The short run stability of a NAIRU is examined taking into account real debt effects of accelerating and decelerating inflation, and the short run effectiveness of monetary policy interventions applying the interest rate tool is analysed....

Using a multi-country data set strong correlation are found between average growth rates of monetary aggregates and average inflation. The correlation remains strong when countries with higher average inflation rates are removed from the sample. These results confirm the strong correlation found in the traditional literature but contradict those in De Grauwe and Polan (2001) who, in a recent an...

The introductory phase of the European Monetary Union ended with the emission of euro currency in 2002. We present a review of the experiences with the new monetary union. Using a Taylor-rule, we analyze the ECB’s conduct of monetary policy. The empirical results suggests that the ECB applies similar weights to inflation and the output gap as the Bundesbank in the past, but more than proportion...

a number of countries, including Australia, over the past decade. The adoption of a framework that focuses explicitly on inflation reflects the growing realization that the major contribution that monetary policy can make to economic growth and welfare in the long run is the maintenance of a low and stable inflation rate. Empirical evidence confirms the detrimental effects of higher inflation o...

Because unanticipated monetary expansion leads to real exchange rate depreciation, and because the harms of real depreciation are greater in more open economies, the benefits of unanticipated expansion are decreasing in the degree of openness. Models in which the absence of precommitment in monetary policy leads to excessive inflation therefore predict lower average inflation in more open econo...

The desirability of fiscal constraints in monetary unions depends critically on whether the monetary authority can commit to follow its policies. If it can commit, then debt constraints can only impose costs. If it cannot commit, then fiscal policy has a free-rider problem, and debt constraints may be desirable. This type of free-rider problem is new and arises only because of a time inconsiste...

Central banks announce specific inflation targets to help anchor inflation expectations and to raise the level of monetary policy credibility (see Debelle and Stevens (1995)). Generally, however, it is argued that in setting inflation targets, there is a trade-off between credibility and flexibility. Targets also provide a yardstick against which the central bank’s success can be measured, allo...