The paper discusses the use of foreign exchange swaps by central banks. Such use has aimed at affecting domestic liquidity, managing foreign exchange reserves, and stimulating domestic financial markets. The discussion is illustrated using selected countries. The paper cautions about the use of...

Daily French and German interest rate changes since the Basle-Nyborg agreement of September 1987 are examined empirically. In particular, it is asked whether the shock associated with German unification altered the degree of leadership of German monetary policy in the exchange rate mechanism...

In this paper, we present stylized facts about exchange rate fluctuations and intervention behavior in the Exchange Rate Mechanism I (ERM I), in particular in light of the recent literature on multilateral target zone models. We estimate bilateral exchange rate distributions of the maximum spot...

In this paper we analyze how the mutual interdependence of private sector expectations influences the stability offixed exchange rate regimes in different countries. When countries trade with one another, the crisis probabilities are interdependent because monetary policy in each country affects...

A number of economies in transition have instituted central bank credit auctions as part of a package of reforms seeking to improve monetary control and foster money market development. This paper examines the use of those auctions and features of their design, including collateralization and...

As with many monetary policy frameworks, inflation targeting is subject to the well-known problem of inflation bias. With inflation targeting, however, the bias becomes apparent not as inflation above desired levels but as a wedge between the announced target and observed inflation. This...

The paper addresses the problem of establishing monetary control in financial systems with insolvent institutions. In particular, it examines the potential adverse selection, moral hazard, and collusion problems that can arise if indirect, auction-based monetary control systems are used in this...

The stickiness of bank lending rates with respect to money market rates is often regarded as an obstacle to the smooth transmission of monetary policy impulses. Yet, no systematic measure of the different degree of lending rate stickiness across countries has been attempted. This paper provides...

The main finding of this paper is that the European Union (EU) countries fall into two broad groups according to the effects of monetary policy adjustments on economic activity. Estimates based on a vector autoregression model indicate that the full effects of a contractionary monetary shock on...

During the 1990s a number of African central banks succeeded in bringing inflation to relatively low levels while maintaining a market-determined exchange rate. These central banks were generally reluctant to fully subordinate exchange rate targets to monetary targets, however, particularly in...