We evaluate the degree of gradualism and inaction in UK monetary policy over the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) period (1997-2007) at the quarterly and the monthly frequency. After accounting for misspecification in standard Taylor rules, we find little evidence for gradualism. A measure of...

The effectiveness of a central bank’s monetary policymaking is determined by the merit of its policy actions and their perceived credibility. Since the 1990s central banks have placed more emphasis on clear communications and transparency as additional levers to help achieve their goals. In...

Recent research has found that macroeconomic survey forecasts of uncertainty exhibit several deficiencies, such as horizon-dependent biases and lower accuracy than simple unconditional uncertainty forecasts. We examine the inflation uncertainty forecasts from the Bank of England, the Banco...

The European Central Bank's asset purchase programs, while intended to stabilize the economy, may have unintended side effects on financial stability. This paper aims at gauging the effects on financial markets, the banking sector, and lending to non-financial firms. Using a structural vector...

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has announced it will refrain from profit distribution in 2022 owing to the accumulation of a huge financial loss. In this paper we examine key determinants of the SNB's loss and shed light on its implications to monetary policy pursuit. In particular, we show that...

This study examines the problem that a central bank may face after exiting a monetary quantitative easing policy. It develops a simple dynamic optimization model of a central bank, which finds that if the bank needs to absorb a substantial amount of excess reserves when exiting, the monetary...

In this ever-changing environment of technological innovations central banks are strongly committed to fulfilling their key objectives of preserving monetary and financial stability, but also make efforts to adapt to new market requirements. On the path of technological transformation of...