Economic performance under different monetary policy frameworks

We first outline the major trends in monetary policy frameworks, which are shifts towards inflation targeting and towards frameworks which offer higher degrees of monetary control. We then examine the economic performance (inflation and growth) associated with different frameworks, presenting unconditional and conditional analyses, running regressions weighted by GDP and population as well as by the number of countries, and using predictions of countries’ monetary policy framework choices to address the issue of endogeneity. We find some differences in performance associated with the different monetary policy frameworks, together with a general improvement over time which is explained in part by the trends towards inflation targeting and more precise monetary control but in part, and perhaps more strongly, reflects a more general trend towards better economic performance.