We study the macroeconomic effects of unconventional monetary policy in the euro area using structural vector autoregressions, identified with an external instrument. The instrument is the common unexpected variation in euro area sovereign spreads for different maturities on policy announcement days. We first show that expansionary monetary surprises are effective at lowering public and private interest ...
The paper analyses the empirical relationship between bank risk and sovereign credit risk in the euro area. Using structural VAR with daily financial markets data for 2003-13, the analysis confirms two-way causality between shocks to sovereign risk and bank risk, with the former being overall more important in explaining bank risk, than vice versa. The paper focuses specifically on the impact of non-standard ...
The ECB announced in October 2018 that it would begin to cut back the amount of monthly asset purchases starting January 2018 while extending the duration of the purchases until at least September 2018. At it latest Governor’s Council meeting in January 2019 it decided to remain on this track despite a sharp appreciation of the euro in the meanwhile. These steps were just two on a longer and potentially ...
Inflation targeting has become one of the most prominent monetary regimes around the globe. Proponents argue that it reduces the dynamic inconsistency problem of monetary policy and thereby stabilises prices, which in turn promotes growth. Opponents, on the other hand, say that by focusing on price stability inflation targeting neglects other important policy objectives, such as financial stability, ...
The academic literature provides no clear answer to this question. In principle, the recent slowdown in reform activity and fiscal consolidation in the euro area may derive from several developments. Potential reasons involve the end of the economic recession, the provision of financial assistance to crisis countries, and improved financing conditions for governments as a result of unconventional monetary ...
Despite expansionary central bank action, inflation remains low in the euro area. How much can we expect from the additional stimulus in face of anaemic global growth and declining oil prices? More generally, have central banks lost the ability to steer inflation in a globalised world where external factors have powerful effects on domestic inflation? This roundup summarises the evidence in the literature ...
In der letzten Dekade kam es bei Rohstoffen zu heftigen Preisschwankungen. Gleichzeitig nahm der Anteil von Finanzinvestoren an Rohstoffterminbörsen erheblich zu. Im Zuge ist eine Diskussion entbrannt, ob Finanzspekulation Rohstoffpreise von ihren fundamentalen Bestimmungsgrößen entfernt. Wissenschaftliche Studien kommen diesbezüglich jedoch zu keinem eindeutigen Ergebnis. Die Politik hat trotzdem ...
Während die europäische Bankenunion seit dem Finanzministertreffen im Dezember 2013 konkrete Züge annimmt, bleiben die Vorschläge der Politik zur Gestaltung einer Fiskalunion vage. Hingegen werden in der Wissenschaft und politischen Beratung mittlerweile mehrere Modelle eines finanzpolitischen Transfersystems für die Europäische Union oder die Eurozone diskutiert. Diese Zusammenfassung erklärt, warum ...
