Since the adoption of inflation targeting in New Zealand in 1990, a number of developed as well as developing and emerging market economies have followed suit. Often the sole goal of central bank policies, the strategy of inflation targeting is to reduce the inflation rate and, in some cases,...

The effectiveness of a central bank's monetary policy depends on the incentives of its head and board members to pursue an efficient policy in the citizens interest. Today, however, these incentives are weakened by three kinds of regulations. First, in almost all countries, only nationals may be...

The poor record of economic convergence between the euro area and those countries that joined the European Union (EU) in May 2004 raises serious doubts about the possibility for the latter countries to adopt the European single currency in the not too distant future. In fact, many new EU...

This paper aims at investigating some neglected consequences of free capital mobility in the Euro area. The approach we use in this work is based on the bookkeeping nature of money, which shows that capital - in the form of bank deposits - is mobile within a currency area but actually immobile...

This paper aims at investigating some neglected consequences of free capital mobility in the Euro area. The approach we use in this work is based on the bookkeeping nature of money, which shows that capital - in the form of bank deposits - is mobile within a currency area but actually immobile...

Over the past several decades, monetary theory and policy have been rather consistent, giving credence to the old adage that "the more things change, the more they stay the same." Indeed, three constants in monetary policy can be identified: (1) central banks always strive for some form of price...

iIn light of the growing interest in "new consensus" models, this paper examines Post Keynesian alternatives to the Taylor rule. It identifies two distinctive approaches to Post Keynesian interest rate policy, which we label the activist and the/i parking-it irules. The first approach advocates...