01877cas a2200241 a 4500 AALejournalIMF008420 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781451851533 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Kieler, Mads. The ECB's Inflation Objective / Mads Kieler. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2003. 1 online resource (50 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students The ECB's objective of medium-term inflation below 2 percent has been portrayed by critics as ambiguous, asymmetric, and excessively stringent. This paper attempts a comprehensive evaluation of the trade-offs for the euro area and finds that: (1) in terms of guiding inflation expectations and policymaking, the current definition has functioned much as would an inflation target centered on 1 1/2-1 3/4 percent; (2) the absence of a specific (point) target for medium-term inflation has encumbered the communication of monetary policy; and (3) a target toward the upper end of the ECB's price-stability range would seem, at least with the current membership of EMU, to strike a judicious balance between the benefits of price stability, on the one hand, and the need to assist relative price and wage adjustment across EMU and safeguard against deflation, on the other hand. Mode of access: Internet IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2003/091 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2003/091/001.2003.issue-091-en.xml IMF e-Library