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Does Central Bank Transparancy Reduce Interest Rates?

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  • Geraats, P.
  • Eijffinger, S.C.W.
  • Cruijsen, C.A.B. van der

    (Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research)

Abstract

Central banks have become increasingly transparent during the last decade. One of the main bene ts of transparency predicted by theoreticalmodels is that it enhances the credibility, reputation, and exibility of monetary policy, which suggests that increased transparency should result in lower nominal interest rates.This paper exploits a detailed transparency data set to investigate this relationship for eight major central banks.It appears that for all central banks, the level of interest rates is affected by the degree of central bank transparency.In particular, the majority of the improvements in transparency are associated with significant effcts on interest rates, controlling for economic conditions.In most of these cases, interest rates are lower, often by around 50 basis points, although in some instances transparency appears to have had a detrimental effect on interest rates

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research in its series Discussion Paper with number 2006-11.

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Date of creation: 2006
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Handle: RePEc:dgr:kubcen:200611

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Cited by:
  1. Ivana Komunjer & Michael T. Owyang, 2012. "Multivariate Forecast Evaluation and Rationality Testing," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(4), pages 1066-1080, November.
  2. Marie Brière & Ombretta Signori, 2011. "Inflation hedging portfolios in different regimes," BIS Papers chapters, in: Bank for International Settlements (ed.), Portfolio and risk management for central banks and sovereign wealth funds, volume 58, pages 139-163 Bank for International Settlements.
  3. Eijffinger, S.C.W. & Tesfaselassie, M.F., 2007. "Central bank forecasts and disclosure policy: Why it pays to be optimisitic," Open Access publications from Tilburg University urn:nbn:nl:ui:12-202789, Tilburg University.
  4. van der Cruijsen, Carin & Demertzis, Maria, 2007. "The impact of central bank transparency on inflation expectations," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 51-66, March.
  5. Signori, Ombretta & Brière, Marie, 2012. "Inflation-Hedging Portfolios : Economic Regimes Matter," Open Access publications from Université Paris-Dauphine urn:hdl:123456789/9296, Université Paris-Dauphine.
  6. Cruijsen, C.A.B. van der & Eijffinger, S.C.W., 2007. "The Economic Impact of Central Bank Transparency: A Survey," Discussion Paper 2007-06, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
  7. Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel, 2012. "Fiscal Policy for Commodity Exporting Countries: Chile's Experience," Documentos de Trabajo 415, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
  8. Rosa, Carlo & Verga, Giovanni, 2007. "On the consistency and effectiveness of central bank communication: Evidence from the ECB," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 146-175, March.
  9. Meredith J. Beechey, 2008. "Lowering the anchor: how the Bank of England's inflation-targeting policies have shaped inflation expectations and perceptions of inflation risk," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2008-44, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
  10. Adonias Evaristo Costa Filho & Fabiana Rocha, 2008. "Comunicação e política monetária no Brasil," Working Papers 08_17, Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade de Ribeirão Preto.
  11. Amir Kia, 2011. "Developing a Market-Based Monetary Policy Transparency Index: Evidence from the United States," Economic Issues Journal Articles, Economic Issues, vol. 16(2), pages 53-80, September.
  12. Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel, 2012. "Fiscal Institutions in Resource-Rich Economies: Lessons from Chile and Norway," Documentos de Trabajo 416, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
  13. Cesar R Sobrino, 2010. "The Effects of Inflation Targeting on the Current Account: An Empirical Examination," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 30(2), pages 1105-1112.
  14. Stephen G. Cecchetti & Kermit L. Schoenholtz, 2010. "How Central Bankers See It: The First Decade of European Central Bank Policy and Beyond," NBER Chapters, in: Europe and the Euro, pages 327-374 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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