0000000000132680
AUTHOR
Jens Forssbæck
The Multi-Faceted Concept of Transparency
Transparency has become a catchword and in the economic-political debate is often seen as a universal remedy for all sorts of problems. In this paper, we analyze and discuss the meaning and use of the concept of transparency in economic research. We look for common denominators across different areas where the concept is used, and find that transparency in essence is about reductions in information asymmetries, and therefore entails the transfer of information from a sender to a receiver. Transparency goes beyond mere information disclosure in that it has a demand-side dimension: the information transferred should be trustworthy and have a value to the receiver. We emphasize the distinction…
The Interplay between Money Market Development and Changes in Monetary Policy Operations in Small European Countries, 1980-2000
We study the interplay between money market development and changes in monetary policy operating procedures in 11 European countries from c. 1980 up to the launch of the EMU. Aspects of money market development such as size and structure of different market segments, and institutional and regulatory changes, are addressed. We recount and empirically examine the reorientation of monetary policy instruments away from quantitative direct control instruments towards indirect market-based instruments.The process of deregulation is uniform across countries. The path of money market development varies substantially, whereas changes in central bank instruments show both similarities and differences…
Do Exchange-Rate Regimes Matter for Monetary-Policy Autonomy? The Experiences of 11 Small, Open European Economies in the 1980s and 1990s
We investigate monetary-policy autonomy under different exchange-rate regimes in small, open European economies during the 1980s and 1990s. We find no systematic difference in the degree of nominal monetary-policy autonomy enjoyed by those countries that pursue flexible exchange-rate regimes as compared to those that have kept their exchange rates fixed. Our interpretation of the results is that over the medium and long term following an 'independent' target for monetary policy, which does not deviate much from the targets of those countries to which one is closely financially integrated, is as constraining as locking the exchange rate to some particular level.