Assessing the Impact of Changes in Transparency and Accountability at the Bank of Canada

Abstract

Inflation targets have clarified the objectives of monetary policy. An objective was to ensure the would be able to more easily assess monetary policy performance based on the Bank of Canada's record at achieving low and stable inflation. An obvious question then is, as a former governor of the bank stated, whether public commentary on monetary policy since 1991 has involved a fairer assessment of the performance of the Bank of Canada. Tests, using interest rates, exchange rates, inflation and inflation forecast data, are presented which shed light on this question. Some comparative data from the United Kingdom and the United States are also provided.