IMF-RBNZ Co-host Regional Conference on Inflation Targeting in New Zealand
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- IMF-RBNZ Co-host Regional Conference on Inflation Targeting in New Zealand
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- Authors: Mary C. Daly
Media Inquiries
International Monetary Fund
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Press Officer: Yuko Maeda
Tel: 81-(0)3-3597-6719
Email: oapmedia@imf.org
Event overview
- Date and location: August 28, 2019, Wellington, New Zealand.
- Hosts: IMF Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (OAP) and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ).
- Participation: About 100 experts from central banks, think-tanks and government offices across the Asia-Pacific region.
- Context motivating the conference:
- Low inflation and sluggish productivity growth in advanced economies.
- High volatility of capital flows in emerging market countries.
- Ongoing re-examination of monetary policy frameworks, including inflation targeting, in many central banks.
Keynote and program logistics
- A keynote speech by Mary Daly, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, was scheduled to be live-streamed tomorrow at 9:30 am (GMT +12).
- Program outline (as presented by Chikahisa Sumi):
- Keynote by Jinill Kim (Korea University) on central bank mandates.
- Sessions on wage and price inflation, monetary policy modelling, and interactions between monetary and fiscal policy.
- Second-day keynote by Mary Daly on labor markets.
- Sessions on Japan’s experience with inflation forecasts and expectations.
- Two concluding panels:
- Panel 1: Lessons for the design and conduct of monetary policy, assessing adequacy of the standard inflation targeting framework and necessary adjustments.
- Panel 2: Central bank governance and independence, addressing credibility issues from persistent inflation undershooting and potential additional central bank mandates.
- Closing comments by RBNZ Deputy Governor Geoff Bascand.
Opening remarks by Chikahisa Sumi (high-level findings and observations)
- Purpose and breadth:
- The IMF’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific helped organize and finance the conference, with emphasis on broad participation from emerging market economies to ensure diverse perspectives and wide dissemination of insights.
- Reasons the conference is timely and well-placed:
- Geographical rationale: New Zealand pioneered inflation targeting around three decades ago and is engaged in re-examining the inflation targeting paradigm.
- Temporal rationale: Since the GFC, the global economic environment has changed fundamentally, prompting a reassessment of macroeconomic and monetary policy, including inflation targeting.
- Identified changes and challenges in advanced economies:
- Central banks have added unconventional instruments to their monetary policy toolkit.
- Some unconventional instruments have stayed in place longer than initially thought and may become conventional going forward.
- Many central banks in advanced economies are re-considering mandates, objectives, and targets against a backdrop of:
- Persistently low inflation and inflation expectations.
- Weak wage-price dynamics.
- Sluggish productivity growth.
- Lower equilibrium interest rates.
- Identified challenges in emerging economies:
- A more intense debate about monetary policy frameworks amid:
- High volatility of capital flows and exchange rates.
- Discussion of the role of monetary policy together with macroprudential policies in stabilizing the economy and the financial system within an integrated policy framework.
- Convening strength:
- The conference assembled a high-caliber mix of academics and practitioners to advance the discussion.
- Gratitude was expressed to speakers, discussants, panelists, and RBNZ staff for cooperation in preparing the event.
- Call to action:
- Participants were encouraged to actively engage in discussions to maximize the conference’s value.