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Incentive schemes for central bankers under uncertainty: inflation targets versus contracts

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  • Eric Schaling
  • Marco Hoeberichts
  • Sylvester Eijffinger

Abstract

The implications of uncertain policy preferences for the targeting and contracting approaches to monetary policy are investigated. It is shown that, in the presence of uncertain preferences, a linear incentive contract in the sense of Walsh performs better than an explicit inflation target as proposed by Svensson. The reason is that an inflation target produces a higher variance of inflation. It is also shown that itis optimal to offer a linear inflation contract that does not depend on the degree of preference uncertainty.

Suggested Citation

  • Eric Schaling & Marco Hoeberichts & Sylvester Eijffinger, 1998. "Incentive schemes for central bankers under uncertainty: inflation targets versus contracts," Bank of England working papers 88, Bank of England.
    • Handle: RePEc:boe:boeewp:88
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Beetsma, Roel M W J & Jensen, Henrik, 1998. "Inflation Targets and Contracts with Uncertain Central Banker Preferences," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 30(3), pages 384-403, August.
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    2. Chortareas, Georgios E & Miller, Stephen M, 2003. "Central Banker Contracts, Incomplete Information, and Monetary Policy Surprises: In Search of a Selfish Central Banker?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 116(3-4), pages 271-295, September.
    3. Sénégas, Marc-Alexandre & Vilmunen, Jouko, 1999. "The effects of transmission uncertainty on the flexibility-credibility tradeoff in monetary policy," Research Discussion Papers 14/1999, Bank of Finland.
    4. Winkler, Bernhard, 2000. "Which kind of transparency? On the need for clarity in monetary policy-making," Working Paper Series 26, European Central Bank.

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