The Interplay between Money Market Development and Changes in Monetary Policy Operations in Small European Countries, 1980-2000

We study the interplay between money market development and changes in monetary policy operating procedures in 11 European countries from c. 1980 up to the launch of the EMU. Aspects of money market development such as size and structure of different market segments, and institutional and regulatory changes, are addressed. We recount and empirically examine the reorientation of monetary policy instruments away from quantitative direct control instruments towards indirect market-based instruments.The process of deregulation is uniform across countries. The path of money market development varies substantially, whereas changes in central bank instruments show both similarities and differences. We hypothesize a relationship between the two processes and provide tentative evidence