CB In Depth
Book notes: 21st century monetary policy, by Ben S Bernanke
Bernanke’s great book offers important insights for today’s policy-makers, writes Stephen Poloz
Is there a case for a retail CBDC in Japan?
A BoJ-managed, account-ledger ‘digital yen’ tied to the new Kotora payments may offer some potential
Social media: an essential tool for central bank communication
Strategies to secure popularity, comprehensibility and reputation as new media takes centre stage
Morocco’s Jouahri on inflation, forex reform, digitalisation and sustainability
The Central Bank of Morocco governor speaks with Christopher Jeffery about Covid-19 policies, Fed tightening, BIS membership, regional co-operation and financial inclusion
People: July to September 2022
A round-up of central bankers in the news and on the move during the past three months
Will the dollar remain the world’s reserve currency?
Bank of Russia sanctions are unlikely to undermine the US dollar’s central role in reserve portfolios. But a relative decline in US economic weight and technological innovation are benefiting other currencies
How to run a world-class economics department
Benchmarking data shows central banks have myriad ways of organising their economists. So how do some of the world’s top research organisations do it?
Book notes: The money minders, by Jagjit S Chadha
This book acts as an invaluable primer on money-credit-fiscal theory and practice
Book notes: Can’t we just print more money?, by Rupal Patel and Jack Meaning
A genuinely readable but non-neutral introduction to economics
Taking a cue from the top: governor turnover and independence
Central bank governors tend to have long tenures, but what that means can vary. High turnover remains a worrisome signal
Is money growth really the main inflation culprit?
Jakob de Haan and Jan-Egbert Sturm take a closer look at inflation in the eurozone and Switzerland
BoJ unlikely to move policy to counter yen weakness
The Bank of Japan is wary of raising rates or even increasing its yield control target to tackle yen depreciation, which it views as being exacerbated by foreign speculators, writes Sayuri Shirai
Rethinking regulation of the modern financial system
Bank of Italy’s Maurizio Trapanese writes that rules need to address uncertainty as well as measurable risks, entity types as well as activities, and should not be overly complex
Book notes: Harry White and the American creed, by James Boughton
This book offers a deeper understanding of the hugely influential IMF founder and his work, but fails to resolve espionage charges
Filipe Dinis on Bank of Canada’s cyber strategy and tackling cyber risks
The Canadian central bank’s chief operating officer calls for heightened vigilance, more collaboration, info sharing and tabletop exercises, and less reliance on similar, siloed systems
Three QE controversies, two theories
BNP Paribas Asset Management‘s head of macro research, Richard Barwell, explores three controversies surrounding quantitative easing through the lens of the quantities and signals theories, and considers whether all asset purchase programmes should be…
Book notes: Two hundred years of muddling through, by Duncan Weldon
Insights into UK economic history offer lessons for today’s policy-makers
Sovereign green bonds: the reserve portfolio’s panacea?
German, Swedish, Danish and UK debt managers speak to Victor Mendez-Barreira about ‘twin bonds’ and other efforts to solve green bond liquidity concerns
Peter Nicholl on rebuilding Bosnia’s central bank
The former RBNZ deputy governor speaks with Dan Hardie about how he tackled financial instability in the aftermath of a war
Book notes: The future of money, by Eswar S Prasad
Prasad’s book is the best on the topic so far, providing the most complete description of issues and factors that will shape the future of money
Does Switzerland need an SWF?
A sovereign wealth fund could adopt longer-term strategies, invest in less liquid assets and increase exposures to riskier assets such as equities, potentially boosting returns
The international effort to manage NBFI risks: where do we stand?
The Covid-19 shock demonstrated more needs to be done to address stability risks posed by the NBFI sector. Maurizio Trapanese details progress made during the Italian G20 presidency as well as outstanding macro-prudential issues
Is a bond market crisis imminent?
Central banks need careful action and a good dose of luck if they are to avoid financial instability
Book notes: Cogs and monsters, by Diane Coyle
Coyle brings much-needed nuance to the debate over the shortcomings of economics