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

What are the top global risks in trade, finance, and technology as of mid-2023?

Andy Yeh Alpha

2023-05-31 11:27:00 Wednesday ET

What are the top global risks in trade, finance, and technology as of mid-2023?

What are the top global risks in trade, finance, and technology? In this macro report, we focus on the current global risks from inflation and growth con

+See More

Saudi Aramco unveils the financial secrets of the most profitable corporation in the world.

Jacob Miramar

2019-04-13 14:28:00 Saturday ET

Saudi Aramco unveils the financial secrets of the most profitable corporation in the world.

Saudi Aramco unveils the financial secrets of the most profitable corporation in the world. In its recent public bond issuance prospectus, Aramco offers the

+See More

House of Representatives considers a government expenditure bill with border wall finance and so sets up a shutdown stalemate with Senate.

Laura Hermes

2018-12-23 13:39:00 Sunday ET

House of Representatives considers a government expenditure bill with border wall finance and so sets up a shutdown stalemate with Senate.

The House of Representatives considers a government expenditure bill with border wall finance and therefore sets up a shutdown stalemate with Senate. As fre

+See More

British Prime Minister Theresa May faces her landslide defeat in the parliamentary vote 432-to-202 against her Brexit deal.

Charlene Vos

2019-01-27 12:39:00 Sunday ET

British Prime Minister Theresa May faces her landslide defeat in the parliamentary vote 432-to-202 against her Brexit deal.

British Prime Minister Theresa May faces her landslide defeat in the parliamentary vote 432-to-202 against her Brexit deal. British Parliament rejects the M

+See More

Chinese trade delegation offers to boost purchases of U.S. agricultural products to reach an interim trade deal with the Trump administration.

Peter Prince

2019-11-03 12:30:00 Sunday ET

Chinese trade delegation offers to boost purchases of U.S. agricultural products to reach an interim trade deal with the Trump administration.

Chinese trade delegation offers to boost purchases of U.S. agricultural products to reach an interim trade deal with the Trump administration. Chinese Vice

+See More

We may need to reconsider the new rules of personal finance.

Daphne Basel

2019-03-05 10:40:00 Tuesday ET

We may need to reconsider the new rules of personal finance.

We may need to reconsider the new rules of personal finance. First, renting a home can be a smart money move, whereas, buying a home cannot always be a good

+See More