This paper extends the Dincer and Eichengreen (2007) index of central bank transparency. Improvements in transparency are notable in Central and Eastern Europe, while the index has shown much smaller rises in most other parts of the world. The pattern observed by Dincer and Eichengreen,...

This paper uses the credit-friction model developed by C'urdia and Woodford, in a series of papers, as the basis for attempting to mimic the behavior of credit spreads in moderate as well as in times of crisis. We are able to generate movements in representative credit spreads that are, at...

Empirical evidence on the potential impact of central bank policies on government bond yields at the effective lower bound (ELB) is presented for nine economies. We quantify the content of central bank communications and consider international policy spillovers. At the ELB, yields at the...

This paper examines the evolution of disagreement over the short-term inflation outlook in nine advanced economies during the decade and half beginning in the 2000s. The paper focuses on how disagreement is largely shaped by the benchmark against which this concept is evaluated and the role of...

This paper has examined the evolution of disagreement over the short-term inflation outlook in nine advanced economies during the decade and half beginning in the 2000s. The paper focuses on how disagreement is largely shaped by the benchmark against which this concept is evaluated and the role...

One way of evaluating how well monetary authorities perform is to provide the public with a regular and independent second opinion. The European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE) are shadowed by professional and academic economists who provide a separate policy rate recommendation...