A revision of the European Central Bank's (ECB) strategy is urgently needed. For the new strategy, it is important to define the inflation target explicitly in symmetrical terms. Environmental policy objectives can in principle be reconciled with the ECB's mandate as long as they do not conflict...

Whether or not inflation targeting adoption leads to increased volatility of exchange rates is controversial. The volatility increases with inflation targeting as a result of the flexible exchange rate regime. Others argue that inflation targeting delivers the best outcomes in terms of lower...

This paper analyses the effects of two alternative monetary strategies (exchange rate targeting and inflation targeting) on economic growth and employment. On the panel of 18 countries for the period from 1996 to 2013, I tested the hypothesis that countries in exchange rate targeting have a...

Die Staatsanleihekäufe der EZB sind zu einem Fall für das Bundesverfassungsgericht geworden. Die Autoren des IW Köln argumentieren, dass das Outright-Monetary-Transactions-Programm noch innerhalb der Grenzen des EZB-Mandats liegt, aber wegen seiner Nachteile nur temporär eingesetzt werden...

Several empirical studies have suggested that the Bundesbank has pursued inflation targets rather than monetary targets. We find that, in the period from 1979 III to 1998 IV, changes in adjusted monetary base growth reacted negatively and significantly to deviations from target monetary...

Large increases in TARGET2 balances in the euro area since 2008 have led to concern and debate about the appropriate interpretation and policy reaction – in particular in TARGET2 creditor countries such as Germany. Against this background, we examine the main drivers of the increases and...

Im Jahr 2024 feiert der Euro sein 25-jähriges Bestehen. Die Stabilität des Euroraums und damit der europäischen Gemeinschaftswährung wurde seit dem Jahr 1999 mehrfach auf die Probe gestellt, insbesondere während der weltweiten Finanzkrise 2008/09 und der sich anschließenden europäischen...

The ECB is formally independent of instructions from any government. During and after the financial crisis and the acute sovereign debt crisis in the euro area, the ECB has used new instruments and has taken on new tasks and responsibilities. This has led to discussions about the independence of...

In einem Umfeld kriseninduzierter Verunsicherung über das Funktionieren des Geldund Finanzsystems finden Forderungen nach einer grundsätzlichen Reform des Geldwesens verstärkte mediale Beachtung. Das elektronische Währungsprojekt Bitcoin und das Konzept Vollgeld sind zwei Varianten von Ideen...

This paper analyses the issue of the dynamics of the TARGET2 system balances during the sovereign debt crisis, when some countries registered a decisive inflow of the central bank liquidity and others showed an outflow. The dynamics in the TARGET2 are here explained as being due to a fall in the...