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Has Monetary Policy Become More Efficient? A Cross Country Analysis

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Author Info
Stephen G. Cecchetti
Alfonso Flores-Lagunes
Stefan Krause

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Abstract

Over the past twenty years, macroeconomic performance has improved in industrialized and developing countries alike. In a broad cross-section of countries inflation volatility has fallen markedly while output variability has either fallen or risen only slightly. This increased stability can be attributed to either: 1) more efficient policy-making by the monetary authority, 2) a reduction in the variability of the aggregate supply shocks, or 3) changes in the structure of the economy. In this paper we develop a method for measuring changes in performance, and allocate the source of performance changes to these two factors. Our technique involves estimating movements toward an inflation and output variability efficiency frontier, and shifts in the frontier itself. We study the change from the 1980s to the 1990s in the macroeconomic performance of 24 countries and find that, for most of the analyzed countries, more efficient policy has been the driving force behind improved macroeconomic performance.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 10973.

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Date of creation: Dec 2004
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:10973

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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  7. Alberto Alesina, 1988. "Macroeconomics and Politics," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1988, Volume 3, pages 13-62 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  8. Stephen G. Cecchetti & Michael Ehrmann, 1999. "Does Inflation Targeting Increase Output Volatility? An International Comparison of Policymakers' Preferences and Outcomes," NBER Working Papers 7426, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Cukierman, Alex & Lippi, Francesco, 1999. "Central bank independence, centralization of wage bargaining, inflation and unemployment:: Theory and some evidence," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(7), pages 1395-1434, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Stephen G. Cecchetti & Stefan Krause, 2001. "Financial Structure, Macroeconomic Stability and Monetary Policy," NBER Working Papers 8354, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Stephen G. Cecchetti & Stefan Krause, 2002. "Central bank structure, policy efficiency, and macroeconomic performance: exploring empirical relationships," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Jul, pages 47-60. [Downloadable!]
  13. Stefan Krause, 2003. "Measuring Monetary Policy Efficiency in European Union Countries: The Pre-EMU years," Emory Economics 0311, Department of Economics, Emory University (Atlanta). [Downloadable!]
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Christopher Kent & Kylie Smith & James Holloway, 2005. "Declining Output Volatility: What Role for Structural Change?," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp2005-08, Reserve Bank of Australia. [Downloadable!]
  2. Miles Parker, 2006. "Diverging Trends in Aggregate and Firm-Level Volatility in the UK," Discussion Papers 16, Monetary Policy Committee Unit, Bank of England. [Downloadable!]
  3. Uluc Aysun & Ryan Brady & Adam Honig, 2009. "Financial Frictions and Monetary Transmission," Working papers 2009-24, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  4. Stefan Krause & Fabio Mendez, 2003. "Policy Makers' Preferences, Party Ideology and the Political Business Cycle," Emory Economics 0319, Department of Economics, Emory University (Atlanta). [Downloadable!]
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  5. Efrem Castelnuovo, 2003. "Taylor Rules and Interest Rate Smoothing in the US and EMU," Macroeconomics 0303002, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  6. Stefan Krause & Felix Rioja, 2006. "Financial Development and Monetary Policy Efficiency," Emory Economics 0613, Department of Economics, Emory University (Atlanta). [Downloadable!]
  7. Carlo Favero & Iryna Kaminska & Ulf Soderstrom, 2005. "The Predictive Power of the Yield Spread: Further Evidence and a Structural Interpretation," Working Papers 280, IGIER (Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research), Bocconi University. [Downloadable!]
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  8. Peter M. Summers, 2005. "What caused the Great Moderation? : some cross-country evidence," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, issue Q III, pages 5-32. [Downloadable!]
  9. John McDermott & Peter McMenamin, 2008. "Assessing Inflation Targeting in Latin America With a DSGE Model," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 469, Central Bank of Chile. [Downloadable!]
  10. Silvio Colarossi & Andrea Zaghini, 2007. "Gradualism, Transparency and Improved Operational Framework: A Look at the Overnight Volatility Transmission," CFS Working Paper Series 2007/16, Center for Financial Studies. [Downloadable!]
  11. Osama Sweidan & Fadwa Kalaji, 2005. "The central bank cost constraint and output-inflation variability: a note on Cecchetti and Ehrmann 2000," Economics Bulletin, Economics Bulletin, vol. 5(12), pages 1-6. [Downloadable!]
  12. Sergio Destefanis, 2003. "Measuring macroeconomic performance through a non-parametric Taylor curve," CSEF Working Papers 95, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy. [Downloadable!]
  13. Benoît Mojon, 2007. "Monetary policy, output composition and the Great Moderation," Working Paper Series WP-07-07, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. [Downloadable!]
  14. Silvia Sgherri & Tamim Bayoumi, 2004. "Deconstructing the Art of Central Banking," IMF Working Papers 04/195, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
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  15. Efrem Castelnuovo, 2002. "Squeezing the Interest Rate Smoothing Weight with a Hybrid Expectations Model," Macroeconomics 0211006, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  16. Stephen G. Cecchetti & Stefan Krause, 2001. "Financial Structure, Macroeconomic Stability and Monetary Policy," NBER Working Papers 8354, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Silvio Colarossi & Andrea Zaghini, 2009. "Gradualism, transparency and the improved operational framework: a look at the overnight volatility transmission," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 710, Bank of Italy, Economic Research Department. [Downloadable!]
  18. Vitor Gaspar & Anil K. Kashyap, 2006. "Stability First: Reflections Inspired by Otmar Issing's Success as the ECB's Chief Economist," NBER Working Papers 12277, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Ryan R. Brady, 2006. "Structural Breaks and Consumer Credit: Is Consumption Smoothing Finally a Reality?," Departmental Working Papers 13, United States Naval Academy Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  20. Frederic Mishkin & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel, 2006. "Does Inflation Targeting Make a Difference?," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 404, Central Bank of Chile. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  21. Loretta J. Mester, 2003. "Applying efficiency measurement techniques to central banks," Working Papers 03-13, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. [Downloadable!]
  22. Stephen G. Cecchetti & Kermit L. Schoenholtz, 2008. "How Central Bankers See It: The First Decade of ECB Policy and Beyond," NBER Working Papers 14489, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  23. Stefan Krause, 2003. "Measuring Monetary Policy Efficiency in European Union Countries: The Pre-EMU years," Emory Economics 0311, Department of Economics, Emory University (Atlanta). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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