Monetary policy communication in the wake of the great recession

Central banks’ transparency and openness have been given fresh impetus in the wake of the great recession. In that context, this article seeks to summarise the latest initiatives concerning communication by the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England, and more particularly the Eurosystem. It also focuses on an aspect of central bank communication which is sometimes hidden but is no less important, namely its accessibility. The article finds that the economic and financial crisis which erupted in 2008 prompted not only wider use of the existing tools but also the development of new means of communication. In addition, the crisis triggered a veritable revolution in the use of communication as a monetary policy instrument. Finally, it undeniably led to closer convergence in the way central banks conduct monetary policy and hence in their communication on the subject. Except in the case of the Federal Reserve, it seems that the readability of monetary policy committee statements has not been impaired by the complexity of the economic environment and monetary policy decisions over the recent period. Communication by both the Bank of Japan and the Eurosystem would even appear to have become a little clearer in recent years. Monetary policy statements are nevertheless still far from being accessible to everyone, and there appears to be considerable scope for improving their readability.