7th BIS Annual Conference - Whither monetary policy? Monetary policy challenges in the decade ahead

26-27 June 2008, Palace Luzern Hotel, Switzerland

The proceedings of this conference were published in March 2009.

Programme

Thursday 26 June

10:00  Registration and refreshments
11:00  Opening remarks William White, Bank for International Settlements
 

Chair:

Guillermo Ortiz, Bank of Mexico
11:15 

Session 1:

In search of monetary stability: the evolution ofpolicy regimes

  Paper title: In search of monetary stability: the evolution of monetary policy
Some reflections. Experience - Lessons - Open issues
(revised version 30 June 2008)
  Author: Otmar Issing, Centre for Financial Studies
  Discussants:

José de Gregorio, Central Bank of Chile (comments)

Allan Meltzer, Carnegie Mellon University (comments)

12:45 Lunch  
  Chair: Durmus Yilmaz, Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey
14:15  Session 2: Monetary policy communication
  Paper title: Talking about monetary policy: The virtues (and vices?) of central bank communication
  Author: Alan Blinder, Princeton University
  Discussants: Benjamin Friedman, Harvard University (comments)
Y V Reddy, Reserve Bank of India (comments)
15:45 Coffee break  
  Chair: Tito Mboweni, South African Reserve Bank
16:15 Session 3: Expectations formation: beyond rational expectations
  Paper title: Inflation expectations, uncertainty, and monetary policy
  Author: Christopher Sims, Princeton University
  Discussants:            Athanasios Orphanides, Central Bank of Cyprus (comments)
Lars Svensson, Sveriges Riksbank (comments revised version 27 Aug 2008)
18:00 End of day one  
19:00  Reception followed by formal dinner
   Keynote adress by Edmund Phelps, Columbia University

Friday 27 June

 

Chair:

Donald Kohn, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

09:00  Session 4: Changes in monetary policy transmission
  Paper title: Has the monetary transmission process in the euro area changed? Evidence based on VAR estimates
(revised version 18 August 2008)
  Author: Axel Weber, Deutsche Bundesbank
  Discussants: Marvin Goodfriend, Carnegie Mellon University (comments)
Arminio Fraga Neto, Gávea Investimentos (comments)
10:30 Coffee break  
  Chair: Hamad Saud Al-Sayari, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency
11:00 Session 5: Price stability and the external dimension
  Paper title: China's financial conundrum and global imbalances(revised version 19 August 2008)
  Author: Ronald McKinnon, Stanford University
Gunther Schnabl, Leipzig University
  Discussants:          Ricardo Caballero, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (comments)
Michael Mussa, The Peterson Institute for International Economics (comments)
12:30   Lunch  
       
         
Luncheon remarks by Martin Wolf, Financial Times     
    

Chair:

Lucas Papademos, European Central Bank

14:00  Session 6: Credit frictions and monetary policy analysis
  Paper title: Credit frictions and optimal monetary policy (revised version 19 August 2008)
  Author: Michael Woodford, Columbia University
  Discussants: Olivier Blanchard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (comments)
Charles Goodhart, London School of Economics (comments)
15:30 Coffee break  
16:00 Panel discussion: Beyond price stability: the challenges ahead
  Chair: Malcolm Knight, Bank for International Settlements
  Panellists:


Martin Feldstein, Harvard University (comments)
Stanley Fischer, Bank of Israel

Mark Carney, Bank of Canada (comments)

Jean-Pierre Landau, Bank of France

17:30 Close of conference