Monetary Policy Decisions : Preparing the Inputs and Communicating the Outcomes

The Autumn 2007 Central Bank Economists' Meeting at the BIS gathered senior representatives from 35 central banks to discuss both the material staff provide to policymakers at their institution as inputs to the policy decision and how the policy outcomes are communicated to the public. The central banks represented at the meeting included all of the largest central banks as well as banks from Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and North and South America. The representatives contributed a background paper describing practices at their central bank. The papers covered what material is provided to policymakers, how it is produced, how it is evaluated, how it has changed and how decisions are communicated. This note was prepared to inform and help structure the discussion. It reviews the central bank contributions, drawing as well on the results of two surveys of central banks conducted by the Central Banking Studies group at the BIS in 2007. The surveys cover the provision of monetary policy analysis and advice by central bank staff and the monetary policy communication practices of central banks