Question 3: More generally, do you agree that it is desirable to maintain central bank independence? Again focus on the near future, say next 48 months.
Central bank independence has been --- is being -- challenged, as Central Banks have been drawn further into actions with clearer fiscal aspects, and further from a narrow technical role. But I expect them to defend their positions firmly. Trump may challenge the independence of the Fed in the coming months, but I expect the Fed to be able to reassert its independence as the inconsistencies in the Trump administration's policies and views become clearer.
It doesn't mask them. It may ameliorate their effects. Member states in which "further structural reforms are needed that facilitate more flexible wage and price formation and increase labour mobility" (as the report says) will be able to make such reforms more easily in an situation of low unemployment and robust growth rather than in a high unemployment/low growth situation, since the initial effects of such reforms might well be to cause more, not less, unemployment, even though their long-term effects will enable lower unemployment.
Inflation in the Euro zone is still well below 2% and is likely to stay there. The ECB should continue to pursue its 'exceptionally loose' policy until there are clear signs that inflation is likely to exceed the 2% target rate. Only then should any tightening be considered.
The CFM surveys informs the public about the views held by prominent economists based in Europe on important macroeconomic and public policy questions. Some surveys focus specifically on the UK economy (as the CFM is a UK research centre), but surveys can in principle focus on any macroeconomic question for any region. The surveys shed light on the extent to which there is agreement or disagreement among these experts. An important motivation for the survey is to give a more comprehensive overview of the beliefs held by economists and in particular to include the views of those economists whose opinions are not frequently heard in public debates.
Questions mainly focus on macroeconomic and public policy topics. Although there are some questions that focus specifically on the UK economy, the setup of the survey is much broader and considers questions related to other countries/regions and also considers questions not tied to a specific economy.
The surveys are done in collaboration with the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR).
The Future of Central Bank Independence
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Question 3: More generally, do you agree that it is desirable to maintain central bank independence? Again focus on the near future, say next 48 months.
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Question 1: Do you agree that central bank independence in the Eurozone and the UK will decline over the next 48 months?
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German Council of Economic Experts' view of ECB policy
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Question 2: Do you agree that the ECB's monetary policy masks structural problems of member states?
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Question 1: Do you agree that exceptionally loose monetary policy by the European Central Bank is no longer appropriate?
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Are academic economists ‘in touch’ with voters and politicians?
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Question 7: Voters did not know that there was near-unanimity among economists.
Do you agree that this was an important reason for a majority of UK voters going against the near unanimous advice of the economics profession?
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