The ECB's Not-So-Sweet 16th

Sixteenth birthdays can be momentous occasions. A coming of age of sorts. Well, New Year’s Day 2015 the European Central Bank turned 16. It is a momentous birthday, but not all that sweet.

To be sure, there is notable good news. The new headquarters in Frankfurt recently opened. Lithuania has entered the euro area. The frequency of ECB monetary policy meetings is about to decline. And there will soon be timely publication of minutes of these meetings.

But the risk of deflation amid sustained economic weakness makes for a very anxious birthday...

Steve Cecchetti and Kim SchoenholtzJanuary 5, 2015ECB, Governing Council, Governance, Central banks, Communications, Quantitative easing, Unconventional monetary policy, Monetary policy transmission

ECB and Fed: Separated at Birth?

Nearly 30 years ago, the satirical Spy magazine began posing the now-familiar question – “separated at birth?” – above lookalike images of two unconnected public figures. Donald Trump was paired with Elvis Presley, Marie Osmond with Monica Lewinsky, and the list goes on (and on). Had Spy found humor in juxtaposing institutions rather than personalities, it still wouldn’t have landed on the Fed and the ECB (which didn’t yet exist): their buildings look nothing alike...

Steve Cecchetti and Kim SchoenholtzSeptember 22, 2014ECB, Fed, Governing Council, FOMC, Central banks, Communications, Governance

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