Central bank independence remains important for core inflation containment in the current age of political populism.

Jonah Whanau

2019-04-21 10:07:54 Sun ET

Central bank independence remains important for core inflation containment in the current age of political populism. In accordance with the dual mandate of both price stability and maximum sustainable employment, most central banks seek to solve the dynamic consistency problem on the basis of a key desire to insulate monetary policy decisions from political influence.

A landmark empirical study of cross-country comparisons by Alberto Alesina and Lawrence Summers confirms that countries with better central bank independence experience lower inflation without suffering any real economic output or labor force penalty. An independent central bank can enhance fiscal discipline by reducing the relative likelihood of fiscal dominance and monetization of perennial budget deficits.

Historical experience and economic theory teach us an informative lesson. When monetary policy is subject to political control, people expect dovish expansionary interest rate adjustments and so anticipate higher wages and prices in response. The undesirable economic outcome is stagflation (or the worst-case scenario of both high inflation and high unemployment). It can cost prohibitive welfare losses for the central bank to bring down inflation with subsequent interest rate hikes. Key credible apolitical monetary policy decisions would thus promote price stability with minimal real impact on economic growth, employment, and capital investment.

 


If any of our AYA Analytica financial health memos (FHM), blog posts, ebooks, newsletters, and notifications etc, or any other form of online content curation, involves potential copyright concerns, please feel free to contact us at service@ayafintech.network so that we can remove relevant content in response to any such request within a reasonable time frame.

Blog+More

The great reversal of antitrust merger review in America

Monica McNeil

2023-10-07 10:24:00 Saturday ET

The great reversal of antitrust merger review in America

Thomas Philippon draws attention to greater antitrust scrutiny in light of the rise of market power and its economic ripple effects. Thomas Philippon (20

+See More

Today, tech titans continue to reshape and even disrupt global pharmaceutical investments for both better healthspan and longer lifespan.

John Fourier

2026-10-31 12:38:00 Saturday ET

Today, tech titans continue to reshape and even disrupt global pharmaceutical investments for both better healthspan and longer lifespan.

Today tech titans and billionaires continue to reshape global pharmaceutical investments for both better healthspan and longer lifespan. We discuss, desc

+See More

Investing in stocks is the best way for people to become self-made millionaires.

James Campbell

2019-06-25 10:34:00 Tuesday ET

Investing in stocks is the best way for people to become self-made millionaires.

Investing in stocks is the best way for people to become self-made millionaires. A recent Gallup poll indicates that only 37% of young Americans below the a

+See More

We assess the global fiscal deficits and sovereign debt burdens in America, Europe, and many other countries worldwide.

James Campbell

2027-01-31 12:25:00 Sunday ET

We assess the global fiscal deficits and sovereign debt burdens in America, Europe, and many other countries worldwide.

In recent decades, many governments have chosen to run high fiscal deficits on top of sovereign debt mountains so that greater government intervention still

+See More

Central bank independence remains important for core inflation containment in the current age of political populism.

Jonah Whanau

2019-04-21 10:07:54 Sunday ET

Central bank independence remains important for core inflation containment in the current age of political populism.

Central bank independence remains important for core inflation containment in the current age of political populism. In accordance with the dual mandate of

+See More

American CEOs of about 200 corporations issue a joint statement in support of stakeholder value maximization.

Becky Berkman

2019-10-23 15:39:00 Wednesday ET

American CEOs of about 200 corporations issue a joint statement in support of stakeholder value maximization.

American CEOs of about 200 corporations issue a joint statement in support of stakeholder value maximization. The Business Roundtable offers this statement

+See More