What Should Central Banks Do? Monetary Policy Goals, Strategy, and Tactics

Chapter 16 What Should Central Banks Do? Monetary Policy Goals, Strategy, and Tactics The Price Stability Goal Low and stable inflation Inflation Creates uncertainty and difficulty in planning for future Lowers economic growth Strains social fabric Nominal anchor Time-inconsistency problem Other Goals of Monetary Policy High employment Economic growth Stability of financial markets Interest-rate stability Foreign exchange market stability Should Price Stability be the Primary Goal? In the long run there is no conflict between the goals In the short run it can conflict with the goals of high employment and interest-rate stability Hierarchical mandate Dual mandate Monetary Targeting Flexible, transparent, accountable Advantages Almost immediate signals help fix inflation expectations and produce less inflation Almost immediate accountability Disadvantages Must be a strong and reliable relationship between the goal variable and the targeted monetary aggregate Inflation Targeting I Public announcement of medium-term numerical target for inflation Institutional commitment to price stability as the primary, long-run goal of monetary policy and a commitment to achieve the inflation goal Information-inclusive approach in which many variables are used in making decisions Increased transparency of the strategy Increased accountability of the central bank Inflation Targeting II Advantages Does not rely on one variable to achieve target Easily understood Reduces potential of falling in time-inconsistency trap Stresses transparency and accountability Disadvantages Delayed signaling Too much rigidity Potential for increased output fluctuations Low economic growth during disinflation Implicit Nominal Anchor Forward looking and preemptive Advantages Uses many sources of information Avoids time-inconsistency problem Demonstrated success Disadvantages Lack of transparency and accountability Strong dependence on the preferences, skills, and trustworthiness of individuals in charge Inconsistent with democratic principles Tactics: Choosing the Policy Instrument Tools Open market operation Reserve requirements Discount rate Policy instrument (operating instrument) Reserve aggregates Interest rates May be linked to an intermediate target Interest-rate and aggregate targets are incompatible Criteria for Choosing the Policy Instrument Observability and Measurability Controllability Predictable effect on Goals The Taylor Rule, NAIRU, and the Phillips Curve An inflation gap and an output gap Stabilizing real output is an important concern Output gap is an indicator of future inflation as shown by Phillips curve NAIRU Rate of unemployment at which there is no tendency for inflation to change