In contrast to the once prevailing norm of secrecy and opaqueness, transparency has now become one of the main features characterising the conduct of monetary policy. Detailed analysis of eleven OECD central banks shows that communication practices have converged markedly in the direction of...

Central banks have responded with exceptional vigour to the crisis by using their traditional interest-rate tools to their limits and deploying a wide range of unconventional measures. This paper documents these responses in a systematic way, reviews the evidence about their impact, and...

After a decade of expansion, the US economy entered recession in March 2001. What characterizes the latest recession more than anything else is the fact that corporate sector demand, as represented by capital investment, is undergoing a deeper correction than seen in past recessions, while...

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), excluding fresh food, had been declining at around 0.8 percent on a year-on-year basis until early 2003. However, the rate of decline diminished steadily thereafter. Recently, in October, it marked an increase of 0.1 percent for the first time in five and a half...

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) estimates the output gap and the potential growth rate, and uses these in judging economic and price conditions. The output gap and potential growth rate have been recently re-estimated in light of the benchmark revision of the GDP statistics at the end of 2005. At the...

The financial crisis and economic downturn are going to weigh on fiscal positions in OECD countries over the short to medium-term, both through the operation of automatic stabilisers and the enactment of discretionary fiscal stimulus packages. However, the strategic policy options facing OECD...

Frequent recourse to large one-off operations in a number of OECD countries has undermined the accuracy of cyclically adjusted fiscal balances as a measure of both the sustainability of public finance and the fiscal stance. This paper first provides detailed information on the nature and amount...

[eng] Hybrid Price And Quantity Instruments for Greenhouse Gas Emission Permits.. Under uncertainty regarding marginal abatement costs, a market for pollution rights is not efficient in dealing with cost risks. The paper presents a hybrid instrument in which the market price is bounded by a...

Despite sustained efforts made in recent years to rein in budget deficits, a majority of OECD countries still face substantial public finance consolidation needs. While essential to avoid the disruption and large costs ultimately associated with unsustainable public finances, fiscal...

There is a case, but there are also counter-arguments. With sufficient forward-looking behaviour among firms and households, price-level targeting can act as a powerful built-in stabiliser through automatic shifts in inflation expectations. This stabilisation mechanism reduces the need for large...