A speech, with several references to the Swedish experience, of John Williams, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, on May 27, 2015. Here is the part that refers to Sweden: Continue reading
Monthly Archives: May 2015
Mortgage contract design, monetary policy, and financial stability
Presentation in a panel at the conference Mortgage Contract Design: Implications for Households, Monetary Policy and Financial Stability, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, May 20-21, 2015. Program with papers and slides.
FT Alphaville post on Riksbank with many errors
Matthew Klein has published an FT Alphaville post with many errors, “Sweden’s inflation record is less interesting than you think.” Its main point is that “the harshest criticisms [of the Riksbank] seem to be unjustified” and that “A reevaluation of the Riksbank’s recent record looks to be in order.” But the post’s reasoning and conclusion do not stand up to scrutiny. Continue reading
Update: The Riksbank’s target achievement does not look better with CPIF and CPIX inflation, or with HICP inflation
Update of previous post, now with data through March 2015 and with HICP inflation. CPIF inflation has an upward bias, since it excludes the effect on inflation of mortgage rates trending down but includes the effect of housing prices trending up. Nevertheless, counter to what is sometimes argued, the Riksbank’s target achievement does not look better with either CPIF and CPIX inflation, or with HICP inflation.
FT editorial on the Riksbank : “The foolishness of tightening monetary policy too quickly”
Quote from an FT editorial, May 2, 2015 on the Riksbank’s monetary policy: Continue reading
Update of comparison of monetary policy in Sweden, the Eurozone, the UK, and the US
A previous post has been updated with new figures comparing the policy rates, inflation rates, and real policy rates in Sweden, the Eurozone, the UK, and the US. The Riksbank’s real policy rate increased by 3.5 percentage points to plus 1 during 2010-2011, whereas the real policy rates stayed low and negative in the other economies. According to this measure, the Riksbank’s policy was extremely tight during 2010-2013. More recently, the real policy rates has fallen in Sweden and risen in the other economies except the US. Continue reading