Reports
Calendar of Monetary Highlights
Economic Background
Money and Credit in the First Half of 1998
Balance of Payments in the First Quarter of 1998
Austrian Outward and Inward Direct Investment in 1996: Stocks at Year End
Studies
Core Inflation in Selected European Union Countries
Regardless of which strategy a central bank chooses to guide its monetary policy, alternative inflation indicators, such as core inflation, are highly useful in assessing the sustainability of a country’s inflation performance. Within the EU, in particular, the convergence of inflation can be gauged more effectively by means of this aggregate.This study presents core inflation indicators for Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Quarterly data were analyzed with a structural vector autoregression model (SVAR) based on assumptions about the long-term effect of factors determining inflation.The results indicate that inflation is determined primarily by demand and monetary policy. No matter which monetary policy strategy the ECB opts for, the availability of data on core inflation and its development will be of significant importance in the single monetary policy’s implementation.
The opinions expressed in the section “Studies” are those of the individual authors and may differ from the views of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank.