This paper discusses instruments and operating procedures of the conduct of monetary policy in the major industrial countries. The exchange rate mechanism of the European Monetary System (EMS) provides clear evidence of the role of exchange rates in influencing monetary policy; the commitment of...

This paper summarizes the IMF advice on the ruble area as it was presented to the national authorities in Russia, the Baltic countries, and other states of the former Soviet Union in 1991-93. In the course of doing so, the paper corrects some misperceptions that have arisen about the IMF''s...

In recent years, many money and repo rates in the United States have been between zero and 25 basis points. As Fed's liftoff approaches, the question of the level of these rates (and the markets that determine them) becomes increasingly important. The paper discusses (i) whether the Fed can...

In closed or open economy models with complete markets, targeting core inflation enables monetary policy to maximize welfare by replicating the flexible price equilibrium. We analyze this result in the context of developing economies, where a large proportion of households are credit constrained...

This paper provides estimates of the government spending multiplier over the monetary policy cycle. We identify government spending shocks as forecast errors of the growth rate of government spending from the Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) and from the Greenbook record. The state of...

The Fed has taken several steps towards strengthening its monetary framework over the past several years. Those steps have supported the Fed's efforts to stimulate the economy through forward guidance despite being constrained by having policy rates at zero. We show that an optimal control...