This paper first reviews a number of stylised facts concerning OECD country business cycles over the past four decades. In general, the amplitude of business cycles has fallen, driven mainly by declining fluctuations of domestic demand. As a result, international divergencies of cyclical...

There has recently been increased research and policy interest in the divergent macroeconomic performance in the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Understanding the underlying factors of macroeconomic differentials, the source and transmission of shocks and the adjustment process in...

The subject matter of this paper is the design of appropriate Central Banking arrangements and exchange rate regimes for those former centrally planned Central and East European countries that are candidates for full membership in the European Union. We give an overview of the existing...

1) Stability Oriented Monetary and Prudential Policies in EU Accession Countries, by Michael C. Bonello 2) Ensuring Financial Stability: Global and European Perspectives, by Fabrizio Saccomanni 3) Foreign Bank Ownership: A Bonus or Threat for Financial Stability? by Claudia M. Buch, Jörn...

An increasing number of countries have adopted inflation targeting since New Zealand first adopted this framework in early 1990. Currently there are 21 countries using inflation targeting in every continent of the world. This paper discusses the characteristics of these countries and how the...

Theory and practice of monetary policy have changed significantly over the past three decades. A very important part of today's monetary policy is management of the expectations of private market participants. Publishing and justifying the central bank's best forecast of inflation, output, and...

The rhythm of financial development in south-eastern Europe has accelerated. In a setting of low inflation and robust growth, domestic credit and cross-border flows are expanding. This process can strengthen real convergence by supporting productivity gains that enhance competitiveness and a...

The importance of credit in the monetary transmission mechanism has recently attained a lot of attention due to a growing understanding that credit market imperfections can have an impact on the monetary policy effectiveness. In this study, using Vector Error Correction Models (VECMs) and...