Monetary Policy Committee Transparency: Measurement,Determinants, and Economic Effects

This paper studies monetary policy committee transparency (MPCT) based on a new index that measures central bankers’ educational and professional backgrounds as disclosed through central bank websites. Based on a novel cross-sectional data set covering 75 central banks, we investigate the determinants of MPCT as well as its economic consequences. We find that past inflation, quality of institutional setup, and extent of Internet use in a country are important determinants of MPCT. MPCT has a robust and significantly negative impact on inflation variability, even after controlling for important macroeconomic variables and institutional transparency, as well as instrumenting MPCT in various ways.Monetary Policy Committee, Transparency, Monetary Policy Transparency, Monetary Policy, Central Banks

Online advertising: analysis of privacy threats and protection approaches

Online advertising, the pillar of the “free” content on the Web, has revolutionized the marketing business in recent years by creating a myriad of new opportunities for advertisers to reach potential customers. The current advertising model builds upon an intricate infrastructure composed of a variety of intermediary entities and technologies whose main aim is to deliver personalized ads. For this purpose, a wealth of user data is collected, aggregated, processed and traded behind the scenes at an unprecedented rate. Despite the enormous value of online advertising, however, the intrusiveness and ubiquity of these practices prompt serious privacy concerns. This article surveys the online advertising infrastructure and its supporting technologies, and presents a thorough overview of the underlying privacy risks and the solutions that may mitigate them. We first analyze the threats and potential privacy attackers in this scenario of online advertising. In particular, we examine the main components of the advertising infrastructure in terms of tracking capabilities, data collection, aggregation level and privacy risk, and overview the tracking and data-sharing technologies employed by these components. Then, we conduct a comprehensive survey of the most relevant privacy mechanisms, and classify and compare them on the basis of their privacy guarantees and impact on the Web.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Issues in Inflation Targeting: A Summary of the Bank of Canada Conference Held 28-29 April 2005

The Bank of Canada's 2005 conference focused on two critical issues: price-level targets versus inflation targets, and the appropriate level of inflation. Session topics included new methodological approaches to examining the validity of the New Keynesian Phillips curve for Canada; the monetary policy implications of border effects and the financial-accelerator model; the zero lower bound on nominal interest rates; and inflation and welfare in general-equilibrium macroeconomic models. A panel of invited speakers discussed the issues of each session, and two distinguished speakers gave their perspectives on inflation.

Optimizing memory management for optimistic simulation with reinforcement learning

Simulation is a powerful technique to explore complex scenarios and analyze systems related to a wide range of disciplines. To allow for an efficient exploitation of the available computing power, speculative Time Warp-based Parallel Discrete Event Simulation is universally recognized as a viable solution. In this context, the rollback operation is a fundamental building block to support a correct execution even when causality inconsistencies are a posteriori materialized. If this operation is supported via checkpoint/restore strategies, memory management plays a fundamental role to ensure high performance of the simulation run. With few exceptions, adaptive protocols targeting memory management for Time Warp-based simulations have been mostly based on a pre-defined analytic models of the system, expressed as a closed-form functions that map system's state to control parameters. The underlying assumption is that the model itself is optimal. In this paper, we present an approach that exploits reinforcement learning techniques. Rather than assuming an optimal control strategy, we seek to find the optimal strategy through parameter exploration. A value function that captures the history of system feedback is used, and no a-priori knowledge of the system is required. An experimental assessment of the viability of our proposal is also provided for a mobile cellular system simulation

Working Paper 108 - Is there a Case for Formal Inflation Targeting in Sub-Saharan Africa?

This paper examines the question of whetherinflation targeting monetary policy is anappropriate framework for sub-SaharanAfrican countries. The paper presents anoverview of inflation targeting, reviews thejustification for the regime, and summarizessome major critiques. Monetary policyresponses to inflation depend on the sourceof inflationary pressures. Therefore, thedeterminants of inflation in African countriesare investigated, using dynamic panel data,and the implications for inflation targetingare discussed. These issues are examined ingreater detail for the two African countrieswhich have formally adopted inflationtargeting, South Africa and Ghana. Theanalysis is placed in the context of the globaleconomic crisis. The paper concludes with adiscussion of alternative approaches tomonetary policies and the institutionalconstraints that would need to be addressedto allow central banks to play a strongerdevelopmental role in sub-Saharan Africancountries.

Is There a Case for Formal Inflation Targeting in Sub-Saharan Africa?

This working paper examines the question of whether inflation targeting monetary policy is an appropriate framework for sub-Saharan African countries. The paper presents an overview of inflation targeting, reviews the justification for the regime, and summarizes some major critiques. Monetary policy responses to inflation depend on the source of inflationary pressures. Therefore, the determinants of inflation in African countries areinvestigated, using dynamic panel data, and the implications for inflation targeting are discussed. These issues are examined in greater detail for the two African countries which have formally adopted inflation targeting, South Africa and Ghana. The analysis is placed in the context of the global economic crisis. The paper concludes with a discussion of alternative approaches to monetary policies and the institutional constraints that would need to be addressed to allow central banks to play a stronger developmental role in sub-Saharan African countries.Sub-Saharan Africa, inflation, development, monetary policy, finance

Inflation Targeting and the Role of Real Objectives

In this paper, I focus on two aspects of central banking – flexibility and transparency – that have been affected by monetary policy debates over the past twenty years. Because criticism of inflation targeting, at least in the United States, often focuses on the claim that an inflation targeting central bank may ignore real economic fluctuations, I direct my comments to the role real objectives play in the design of optimal monetary policy. That is, I focus on how flexible the central bank should be. I argue that, while the recent trend in the academic literature to view central bank objectives as derived from the welfare of the representative agent can be insightful, this perspective is not the only one for thinking about the goals assigned to the central bank. There are reasons why the objectives of a central bank should, potentially, deviate from social welfare, and I will focus on two such reasons; one related to imperfect monitoring and accountability, the other arising from asymmetric information.Central Banks, Monetary Policy, Inflation Targeting.