Question 1: Do you agree that it is feasible for the UK authorities to change the monetary system so that materially negative policy interest rates could be safely implemented? (In answering, you may wish to explain your reasons and define your view of 'material')
I think the options described above, as well as the practical examples of Denmark and Switzerland, suggest that (modestly) negative interest rates could be implemented in practice. The objections seem to me to about the potential impact (for example the distributional consequences) rather than the practicalities.
Question 1: Do you agree that the simultaneous release of the policy decision, the enhanced minutes (including the voting record) of the MPC meeting and (in the relevant months) the release of the Inflation Report will facilitate inference on the likely stance of monetary policy?
Question 2: Do you agree that the Bank's proposal to release the policy decision, MPC minutes and (once a quarter) the Inflation Report all at the same time justifies a change in the structure of MPC meetings from two consecutive days to a process in which in the MPC meetings are spread out over seven days?
Question 2: Do you agree that refusal of the core EU countries to a renegotiation of the Greek bailout agreements would carry serious risks for the economic well-being of the Eurozone?
The real danger to the economic and political wellbeing (and indeed existence) of the eurozone is continuation of current misguided fiscal and monetary policies; that is, imposing aggressive fiscal consolidation on deeply depressed economies at the same time as allowing inflation to remain persistently far below target and close to zero.
Refusal to negotiate seriously with Syriza won't directly make matters much worse, but would be a signal that the people who got us into this current mess - policymakers in Brussels and Berlin - still don't understand just how much damage they have done and are doing. Similarly, renegotiating the Greek programme with Syriza won't in itself boost the eurozone economy much, and won't avoid the need for a new Greek government to undertake serious, genuine reform, but would be a belated signal that finally a more sensible, pragmatic approach is being adopted by eurozone policymakers.
Question 1: Do you agree that a Syriza victory on 25 January would lead to a significant or sustained escalation in spreads for other peripheral Eurozone countries?
The reductions in spreads since late 2012 observed in peripheral Eurozone members were not the result of "successful" fiscal consolidations, but the direct consequence of the commitment of the ECB to do "whatever it takes" to preserve the euro. Similarly. as long as the ECB maintains this commitment, there is no reason for spreads to widen again. Certainly, a sensible renegotiation of the misconceived and poorly implemented Greek adjustment programme would not in itself lead a a widening of spreads - any such widening would be the result of renewed mishandling of the situation by eurozone policymakers.
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).
Monetary policy and the zero lower bound (ZLB)
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Question 1: Do you agree that it is feasible for the UK authorities to change the monetary system so that materially negative policy interest rates could be safely implemented? (In answering, you may wish to explain your reasons and define your view of 'material')
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Transparency and the Effectiveness of Monetary Policy following the Warsh Review at the Bank of England
Greece’s elections and the future of the Eurozone
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Question 2: Do you agree that refusal of the core EU countries to a renegotiation of the Greek bailout agreements would carry serious risks for the economic well-being of the Eurozone?
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Question 1: Do you agree that a Syriza victory on 25 January would lead to a significant or sustained escalation in spreads for other peripheral Eurozone countries?
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