This paper discusses operational issues for countries that want to reform their monetary policy frameworks. It argues that stabilizing short-term interest rates on a day-to-day basis has significant advantages, and thus that short-term interest rates, not reserve money, in most cases should be...

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has severely shocked the commercial real estate (CRE) sector, which could have important implications for macro-financial stability going forward because of the large size of the sector and its strong interconnectedness with the real economy. Using a novel...

Based on technical assistance to central banks by the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department and Information Technology Department, this paper examines fintech and the related area of cybersecurity from the perspective of central bank risk management. The paper draws on findings from...

This paper analyzes whether and how central banks can use currency options to lower exchange rate volatility and maintain (implicit) target zones in foreign exchange markets. It argues that selling rather than buying options will result in market makers dynamically hedging their long option...

Die Staatsanleihekäufe der EZB sind zu einem Fall für das Bundesverfassungsgericht geworden. Die Autoren des IW Köln argumentieren, dass das Outright-Monetary-Transactions-Programm noch innerhalb der Grenzen des EZB-Mandats liegt, aber wegen seiner Nachteile nur temporär eingesetzt werden...

Im September 2012 hatte EZB-Präsident Draghi angekündigt, dass die Europäische Zentralbank - wenn es notwendig ist - unbegrenzt Staatsanleihen von Krisenstaaten aufkauft, um die Refinanzierung ihrer Staatsschulden zu ermöglichen und ihre Zinsbelastung zu senken. Nach Auffassung des Autors...

Seit der Finanzkrise 2008 unterliegen die Europäischen Volkswirtschaften einer nahezu permanenten, im übertragenen Sinn "intensivmedizinischen" Behandlung mit unkonventionellen geld- und fiskalpolitischen Maßnahmen. Die von der EZB praktizierten, aus der Not dicht aufeinanderfolgender Krisen...

We develop a theory of money and credit as competing payment instruments, then put it to work in applications. Buyers can use cash or credit, with the former (latter) subject to the inflation tax (transaction costs). Frictions that make the choice of payment method interesting also imply...

Do changes in monetary policy affect inflation and output in the East African Community (EAC)? We find that (i) Monetary Transmission Mechanism (MTM) tends to be generally weak when using standard statistical inferences, but somewhat strong when using non-standard inference methods; (ii) when...