scholarly journals An Empirical Analysis of the Monetary Policy Reaction Function

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Felix S. Nyumuah

Monetary policy decisions usually follow a policy rule which shows a consistent response of policy instruments to variations in inflation and economic growth. The aim of this study is to establish the nature of monetary policy in developing countries through the analysis of policy reaction functions. This study uses macroeconomic data from Ghana, a typical developing country. The study employs the Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares Estimation techniques and finds the central bank to follow a backward-looking Taylor rule. The evidence is that the central bank follows some form of policy rule and focuses more on past inflation relative to current or expected inflation. The results also indicate that the Bank of Ghana has been pursuing inflation targeting monetary policy. The central bank follows an inflation targeting rule allowing for output stabilisation. The exchange rate also plays a role in this stabilization effort.

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 266-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodolfo Nicolay ◽  
Ana Jordânia de Oliveira

PurposeStudies about the determinants of the clarity of central bank communication are still scarce. To the authors’ knowledge, there are no studies regarding emerging economies. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature in the following aspects: to analyze the determinants of the clarity of the central bank communication in an inflation targeting emerging economy; observe the influence of inflation volatility over the clarity; and observe the effect of the monetary policy signaling over the clarity.Design/methodology/approachThe work uses readability indexes to measure the clarity of central bank communication. The empirical analysis uses ordinary least squares and the Generalized Method of Moments with one- and two-step estimations.FindingsThe findings suggest the inflation volatility reduces the clarity of central bank communication. Moreover, the monetary policy signaling also affects the clarity, but the effect depends on the direction of the signal.Practical implicationsThis paper observes the determinants of the clarity considering an emerging economy environment. The clarity of central bank communications is an important tool to access transparency. Hence, the analysis of what determines the clarity of central bank communication is a debate about the level of transparency accessed by the central bank.Originality/valueThere are no studies about the determinants of the clarity of central bank communication in emerging economies. Moreover, the novelty are the effects of inflation volatility and monetary policy signaling over the clarity.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vesna Martin

Abstract The paper focuses on analysing monetary policy in Serbia. The National Bank of Serbia chose inflation targeting, which sets price stability as the main objective of monetary policy. To achieve this goal, the central bank uses different monetary policy instruments which analysis can provide us with the understanding of the main directions of their actions but also of the limitations of its application. Only through improvement of both instruments and monetary policy the central bank will create a better foundation for achieving monetary stability. In addition, the implementation of exchange rate policy is entrusted to the National Bank of Serbia, as the main regulator of the financial system. A mere use of managed floating exchange rate, as the chosen exchange rate regime, is an appropriate solution in the current economic circumstances and in accordance with the desired objective of monetary policy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 1142-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Caldas Montes ◽  
Rodolfo Tomás da Fonseca Nicolay

Purpose – Due to the fact that studies on central bank communication in emerging countries are still scarce and there are few studies related to the influence that central bank’s perspectives about the state of the economy have on inflation expectations in emerging economies, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature in the following aspects: it proposes an indicator of the central bank’s perception of inflation based on the minutes of the COPOM meetings, and, it analyzes the influence of central bank communication on expert inflation expectations through such indicator. Design/methodology/approach – Due to the fact that the perception of the Central Bank of Brazil is not directly observable, it is measured through the fuzzy set theory by an indicator that captures the informational content of the minutes of the COPOM meetings. The empirical analysis uses ordinary least squares, the generalized method of moments and vector-autoregressive through impulse-response analysis. Findings – The findings suggest that the expectations of financial market experts react according to the content of the information provided by the central bank, i.e., announcements cause deterioration of expectations in times of instability, and reduce inflation expectations when inflation is controlled. The results also support the idea that the credibility of inflation targeting plays a key role in determining inflation expectations. Practical implications – This paper suggests a new approach on studies about central bank communication. The focus here is not on the effect of the announcements in terms of future monetary policy, but on the perception of the central bank in terms of inflation. This central bank’s perception reflects the optimistic or pessimistic view about the economic outlook and risk of inflation and this perception is considered by experts of financial markets. Originality/value – For Brazil, there are no studies about the influence of communication through the minutes of the Brazilian Monetary Policy Committee meetings on inflation expectations. The authors develop an indicator in order to measure central bank’s perception of inflation based on the minutes of COPOM meetings.


Author(s):  
Paweł Franka ◽  
Anna Wisz

The article discusses the activities of National Bank of Poland during the past twenty-five year and more specifically in the years 1989–2013 with particular emphasis on monetary policy. During this time, the Polish central bank has undergone fundamental change, starting from the position of the so-called monobank, i.e. bank without autonomy in activities, characteristic of planned economy. The article describes the process of transformation of the National Bank of Poland to the role of a central bank operating in a market economy. The paper emphasizes all the important events in the transformation, including building of a two-tier banking system, the gradual replacement of the administrative measures by monetary policy instruments, currency denomination, constitutional guarantees of the role and independence of the National Bank of Poland, creation of the Monetary Policy Council – a departure from the single monetary policy-making in favor of collegiality, changing the monetary policy strategy to direct inflation targeting, bank exchange rates policy, open market operations.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umit Bulut

Abstract In monetary economics literature, there is an agreement that monetary policy has a lagged effect on inflation. As a result of this agreement, monetary policy reaction functions that include expected inflation, instead of current or lagged inflation, are established. On the other hand, there is uncertainty about how much time monetary policy needs to affect inflation. The purpose of this paper is to estimate empirically how far ahead the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey looks. In other words, the paper examines whether the CBRT takes into consideration 12-month ahead inflation expectations or 24-month ahead inflation expectations while steering interest rates. According to the results of the paper, the CBRT considers 12-month ahead inflation expectations while steering interest rates.


1997 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben S Bernanke ◽  
Frederic S Mishkin

In recent years, a number of industrialized countries have adopted a strategy for monetary policy known as ‘inflation targeting.’ The authors describe how this approach has been implemented in practice and argue that it is best understood as a broad framework for policy, which allows the central bank ‘constrained discretion,’ rather than as an ironclad policy rule in the Friedman sense. They discuss the potential of the inflation-targeting approach for making monetary policy more coherent and transparent and for increasing monetary policy discipline. The authors' final section addresses some additional practical issues raised by this approach.


1991 ◽  
Vol 30 (4II) ◽  
pp. 931-941
Author(s):  
M. Aynul Hasan ◽  
Qazi Masood Ahmed

Monetary policy, in general, refers to those steps taken by the Central Bank to achieve such broader objectives of the economy as growth, employment, external balance and price stability through changes in the money supply, interest rates and credit policies. The money supply thus created by the Central Bank should be in response to the changes in key macroeconomic target variables such as GNP, balance of payments, inflation, internal debt and unemployment. Indeed, a properly estimated monetary policy reaction function can provide useful information regarding such matters as to whether the Central Bank, in fact, has been systematically accommodating to the changes in the target variables. The reaction function can also provide insight into the question as to what should be the relevant indicators of the monetary policy. In addition, as argued by Havrilesky (1967), it may also play a crucial role in the formulation of long-term monetary policy strategy. The other important consideration in the development of a monetary policy reaction function pertains to the endogeneity of the monetary policy. As pointed out by Goldfeld and Blinder (1972), if a policy variable responds to the lagged (or expected) target values, then considering such a policy variable as exogenous would not only introduce the problem of misspecification but will also produce serious biases in the parameters estimated from those models. In particular, if the monetary policy variable happens to be strongly influenced by target variables, then the standard result of the relative effectiveness of the monetary policy vis-a-vis fiscal policy can be questionable on the grounds of reverse causation problem.


2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-82
Author(s):  
George S. Tavlas

There has long been a presumption that the price-level stabilization frameworks of Irving Fisher and Chicagoans Henry Simons and Lloyd Mints were essentially equivalent. I show that there were subtle, but important, differences in the rationales underlying the policies of Fisher and the Chicagoans. Fisher’s framework involved substantial discretion in the setting of the policy instruments; for the Chicagoans the objective of a policy rule was to tie the hands of the authorities in order to reduce discretion and, thus, monetary policy uncertainty. In contrast to Fisher, the Chicagoans provided assessments of the workings of alternative rules, assessed various criteria—including simplicity and reduction of political pressures—in the specification of rules, and concluded that rules would provide superior performance compared with discretion. Each of these characteristics provided a direct link to the rules-based framework of Milton Friedman. Like Friedman’s framework, Simons’s preferred rule targeted a policy instrument.


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