This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Assessing the ECB's Performance since the Global Slowdown A Structural Policy Bias Coming Home to Roost?

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Jorg Bibow (Levy Economics Institute)
Abstract

This paper assesses the ECB’s performance, which the author finds to be seriously lacking but which is of paramount importance to understanding euroland’s ongoing stagnation and fragility. A main finding is that the series of policy blunders which characterized the bank’s conduct features a bias. Institutions as well as personalities appear to be behind the bank’s tendency to err systematically in one direction. Curiously, this bias is adverse not only to growth, but to price stability. The author shows that viewing the ECB through inflation- targeting lenses is very misleading, since that view does not reflect the bank’s perspective at all, and that standard Taylor rule exercises are superfluous. The ECB’s words and deeds may be far more consistent than is widely held, without making them any less detrimental to economic performance.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://129.3.20.41/eps/mac/papers/0407/0407026.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by EconWPA in its series Macroeconomics with number 0407026.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length: 80 pages
Date of creation: 21 Jul 2004
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpma:0407026

Note: Type of Document - pdf; pages: 80
Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://129.3.20.41

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (EconWPA).

Related research
Keywords: Policy inconsistencies; EMU; Inflation Targeting; Taylor rules;

Other versions of this item:

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
E61 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination
E63 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Comparative or Joint Analysis of Fiscal and Monetary Policy; Stabilization

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

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.:
  1. Richard Clarida & Jordi Gali & Mark Gertler, 1999. "The Science of Monetary Policy: A New Keynesian Perspective," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 37(4), pages 1661-1707, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Jšrg Bibow, 2004. "Investigating the Intellectual Origins of Euroland's Macroeconomic Policy Regime: Central Banking Institutions and Traditions in West Germany After the War," Economics Working Paper Archive 406, Levy Economics Institute, The. [Downloadable!]
  3. Richard J. Cebula & Ira S. Saltz, 1997. "Federal Government Budget Deficits and Real Long-Term Interest Rates in the United States: An Alternative Perspective," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 133(I), pages 19-27, March. [Downloadable!]
  4. George A. Akerlof & William R. Dickens & George L. Perry, 1996. "The Macroeconomics of Low Inflation," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 27(1996-1), pages 1-76. [Downloadable!]
  5. Ben S. Bernanke & Frederic S. Mishkin, 1997. "Inflation Targeting: A New Framework for Monetary Policy?," NBER Working Papers 5893, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Buiter, Willem H & Corsetti, Giancarlo & Roubini, Nouriel, 1992. "`Excessive Deficits': Sense and Nonsense in the Treaty of Maastricht," CEPR Discussion Papers 750, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. De Grauwe, Paul, 2000. "Exchange Rates in Search of Fundamentals: The Case of the Euro-Dollar Rate," CEPR Discussion Papers 2575, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Olivier J. Blanchard & Lawrence H. Summers, 1986. "Hysteresis and the European Unemployment Problem," Working papers 427, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Economics.
    Other versions:
  9. Alan S. Blinder, 1999. "Central Banking in Theory and Practice," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262522608, January.
  10. De Grauwe, Paul, 2000. "Exchange Rates in Search of Fundamentals: The Case of the Euro-Dollar Rate," International Finance, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 3(3), pages 329-56, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Philip Arestis & Malcolm Sawyer, 2002. "Can Monetary Policy Affect The Real Economy?," Economics Working Paper Archive 355, Levy Economics Institute, The. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  12. Giancarlo Corsetti & Paolo Pesenti, 1999. "Stability, Asymmetry, and Discontinuity: The Launch of European Monetary Union," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 30(1999-2), pages 295-372. [Downloadable!]
  13. Jorg Bibow, 2002. "The Markets versus the ECB, and the EURO's Plunge," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 28(1), pages 45-57, Winter. [Downloadable!]
  14. Arestis, Philip & McCauley, Kevin & Sawyer, Malcolm, 2001. "An Alternative Stability Pact for the European Union," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 25(1), pages 113-30, January.
    Other versions:
  15. Jörg Bibow, 2001. "Reflections on the Current Fashion For Central Bank Independence," Macroeconomics 0108004, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  16. Cecchetti, Stephen G, 2000. "Making Monetary Policy: Objectives and Rules," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(4), pages 43-59, Winter.
Full references

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. Jorg Bibow, 2005. "Europe’s Quest for Monetary Stability: Central Banking Gone Astray," Macroeconomics 0508029, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  2. Joreg Bibow, 2005. "Refocusing the ECB on Output Stabilization and Growth through Inflation Targeting?," Macroeconomics 0507017, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  3. Joerg Bibow, 2005. "Europe's Quest for Monetary Stability: Central Banking Gone Astray," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_428, Levy Economics Institute, The. [Downloadable!]
  4. Joerg Bibow, 2005. "Refocusing the ECB on Output Stabilization and Growth through Inflation Targeting?," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_425, Levy Economics Institute, The. [Downloadable!]
  5. Jorg Bibow, 2005. "Bad for Euroland, Worse for Germany-The ECB's Record," Macroeconomics 0511018, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  6. Joerg Bibow, 2005. "Bad for Euroland, Worse for Germany: The ECB's Record," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_429, Levy Economics Institute, The. [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? Apart from a small start up grant in the 1990's, RePEc has received no funding and lives on the help of volunteers.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-3.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.