Following the experience of the global financial crisis, central banks have been asked to undertake unprecedented responsibilities. Governments and the public appear to have high expectations that monetary policy can provide solutions to problems that do not necessarily fit in the realm of...

This paper focuses on the trade–offs that central banks would face if they were to start tackling climate change. Disruptive natural events can hamper growth and capital accumulation, thereby affecting price and financial stability – elements for which central banks are responsible. Yet, the...

In a large sample of countries across different geographic regions and over a long period of time, we find limited country- and variable-specific effects of central bank transparency on forecast accuracy and their dispersion among a large set of professional forecasts of financial and...

Global growth prospects have deteriorated significantly since the beginning of the year, raising the specter of global recession. This paper relies on insights gleaned from previous global recessions to analyze the recent evolution of economic activity and policies and presents plausible...

The worldwide financial crisis revealed that some of the basic consensuses concerning the macroeconomic policy framework and the roles of the central banks were no longer tenable. This prompted rethinking of central bank objectives, strategies and policy instruments, with particular focus on the...

The paper examines the exercise, the efficiency, and the legitimacy of the monetary policy-making process. The goal of central bank autonomy in recent times is the outcome of a demand for price stability. The realisation of autonomy is also a consequence of the fragmentation of national decision...

I provide evidence that portfolio equity inflows can have expansionary effects on GDP and inflation if not offset by monetary policy. I use a shift-share instrument to estimate equity inflows based on plausibly exogenous timing of inflows into mutual funds with heterogeneous country portfolios....

Global inflation has risen sharply from its lows in mid-2020, on rebounding global demand, supply bottlenecks, and soaring food and energy prices, especially since the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine. Markets expect inflation to peak in mid-2022 and then decline, but to remain elevated...

Low inflation hit the Japanese economy shortly after the burst of the bubble in stocks and real estate in 1991 and has haunted the domestic economy ever since. The bubbles were partly attributable to prolonged monetary easing in the second half of 1980s, which was conducted to increase domestic...