The aim of this study is to explore budget planning in the euro area countries in 2004-2014. Our analyses are based on annual real-time data from the IMF World Economic Outlook publications. As forecasts made by different institutions are strongly correlated, our dataset reasonably reflects...

This paper studies the formation of inflation expectations in the euro area. We first analyse the forecast accuracy of ECB inflation projections relative to private sector forecasts. Then, using the ECB Survey of Professional Forecasters (ECB SPF), we estimate a general model integrating two...

We estimate the ECB's monetary policy reaction function by using real time Eurosystem/ECB staff macroeconomic projection data, which are presented to the ECB's Governing Council when it assesses the monetary policy stance in the euro area. Alternative specifications of the reaction function...

We use administrative and survey-based micro data to study the relationship between cognitive abilities (IQ), the formation of economic expectations, and the choices of a representative male population. Men above the median IQ (high-IQ men) display 50% lower forecast errors for inflation than...

Using a novel approach based on micro-level survey responses, we assess the reliability of aggregated inflation expectations estimates in the European Commission Consumer Survey. We identify the share of consumers, whose qualitative and quantitative views on expected increase of prices do not...

This paper examines empirical performance of three different Phillips curve specifications in the euro area.Instead of imposing rational expectations, direct measures, ie OECD forecasts, are used to proxy economic agents' inflation expectations.Real marginal costs are measured in three different...

1 Introduction . 10 2 Alternative models for optimal price setting 16 2.1 Basic model with endogenous supply 17 2.2 Optimal price setting models . 21 2.2.1 Optimal price setting with fully flexible prices 21 2.2.2 Optimal non-overlapping price setting with nominal rigidities . 23 2.2.3 Optimal...

Communication targeting households and firms has become a stand-alone policy tool of many central banks. But which forms of communication, if any, can reach ordinary people and manage their economic expectations effectively? In a large-scale randomized control trial, we show that communication...

This paper evaluates the quality of survey forecasts, their accuracy and unbiasedness, and their overall consistency. The paper also tries to find out whether the relationships between economic variables are the same in survey data and in the actual data. In other words we analyze whether the...

This paper studies professional forecasts on a micro level using three alternative data sets. The analysis is mainly based on the ECB Survey of Professional Forecasts for the euro area, but for comparison, Consensus Economics survey and the Survey of Professional Forecasts for the US are also...