Inequality
Economy’s ‘first responders’ now in the line of fire
Forceful but late interventions to combat inflation raise the risk of central bank overreactions
How central bank mistakes after 2019 led to inflation
Central banks must acknowledge their own mistakes and outline concrete steps to restore the public’s confidence in their ability to ensure price stability, write Graeme Wheeler and Bryce Wilkinson*
Bank of Canada deputy stresses heterogeneity’s role in monetary policy
Debt may complicate tightening cycle, as Canadian consumer inflation expectations rise
BIS report highlights macro risks of inequality
Persistent inequality could weaken policy and create negative feedback mechanism, research finds
Inflation is more painful for the poor, says Brainard
Fed official joins wider discussion about measurement and impact of inflation
Governor of the year: Mario Marcel
Chile’s governor has expertly navigated a third currency crisis in two years, amid wider EM stress and political volatility, while bolstering the central bank’s capabilities
Hong Kong recovery expected to slow – IMF
Fund warns of risks including exposures to Chinese real estate and further supply disruption
Markus Brunnermeier on the need for CBDCs
The Princeton academic co-authored a paper for the European Parliament exploring the potential pitfalls of CBDCs. But they are still needed, he says
Economists warn Latin America faces another lost decade
Continent is “halfway to a lost decade already”, says World Bank’s Carmen Reinhart
IMF paper finds falling r* should eventually reverse
Authors say several policies could be used to push natural rate back up
BoC paper highlights ‘profound impact’ of heterogeneity
Confluence of factors has pushed heterogeneity into the forefront of economic research, authors say
BoE paper links inequality to credit crises
Central banks will redistribute resources whether they act or not, authors say
New York Fed opens new research centre
Marco Del Negro will lead work on research methods and issues in macroeconomics
Larry Summers on stagflation risks, lessons from Delphi and never-ending ‘punch’
The former US Treasury secretary speaks about fiscal ‘overexpansion’, Fed/Treasury debt discord, the pitfalls of ‘unknown unknowns’ and central bankers ‘unable’ to remove the ‘punchbowl’
Inequality sharpens monetary policy’s effects – ECB paper
Author analyses “inequality channel” using model with three types of heterogeneous agent
Dutch households to keep most pandemic savings
DNB still expects strong recovery in household consumption if social distancing measures are lifted
The ‘golden age’ of central banking has passed
Central banks face multi-faceted challenges and weakened autonomy amid highly polarised inflation expectations
UK financial sector slowly improving on diversity – BoE paper
Research shows women are gaining a foothold, but progress with age and nationality diversity has stalled
World Bank appoints Caribbean and central Asian directors
New York Fed names chief of innovation hub and St Louis appoints head of economic equity institute
ECB paper investigates macro-pru’s impact on inequality
More research is needed on how borrower-based measures affect income inequality, researchers say
Dallas Fed: credit conditions improved for most in 2020
Study of Texas finds communities with more immigrants saw fewer benefits
Charles Goodhart on inflation targets, financial stability and the role of money
The LSE professor says inflation targets should have been 0%, the Fed’s move to AIT is a mistake, independence is under threat from inflation, big balance sheets support liquidity, AI can help supervisors and climate stress tests are unconvincing
Multiple expectations test communications
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s communications are being tested, and some recent exchanges have been combative, says Mike Hannah
A chemical engineer walks into a bank
Mónica Fernandes, head of the quality and counterfeit analysis division at the Bank of Portugal, explains why it is just as important for central banks to employ scientists as to employ economists