Economic stability helps countries sustain growth, create jobs and enjoy an improved standard of living – and central banks play an essential role in this endeavor.
On a macro basis, central banks regulate inflation and influence money supply via open market operations. On a micro level, they set reserve ratios at commercial banks and act as lenders of last resort.
Monetary Policy
Monetary policy refers to a set of tools central banks use to influence the money supply in their economies and achieve wider objectives like price stability – usually understood as low and stable inflation (See Explainer: Inflation).
Most central banks employ an inflation-targeting framework when conducting monetary policy, which entails setting an inflation target and using other traditional and nontraditional tools to ensure that inflation stays near that goal.
Central banks’ ability to manipulate money supply relies on financial market conditions, which in turn impact real economic activity. A stable financial system is essential in reaching monetary policy’s goals; any instability in financial markets could reverberate into the economy and make reaching these objectives harder. Policymakers should carefully consider any tradeoffs between financial stability and reaching policy goals over the business and credit cycle; they could vary.
Inflation Control
Inflation is an integral component of economic stability, making the currency less desirable to investors while undermining growth by raising borrowing costs and moral hazard concerns. Conversely, low inflation tends to benefit all: encouraging savings and investments while helping keep market interest rates stable, and fostering the expansion of businesses.
Central banks use various tactics to combat inflation by adjusting their policy rate, encouraging or discouraging financial institutions from lending money at different rates – this in turn has an effect on demand and prices.
Rapid credit growth has long been identified as one of the primary contributors to banking crises, with 75% of credit booms that occurred in emerging markets ending up in financial distress. To combat excessive credit growth, central banks have increasingly placed emphasis on controlling it via changes to policy rates – often leading to a sharp increase in borrowing costs.
Exchange Rate Management
Many EMEs place great value on maintaining the stability of their exchange rates, which can be seen through either large FX reserves or by their unwillingness to let exchange rates freely appreciate against major currencies. Overvalued exchange rates reduce investment flows and weaken growth potential while they also force surplus countries into sterilizing reserves accumulation; an act which deprives their economy of funds it could invest domestically.
Central banks should develop a broad set of policy instruments other than just tightening monetary policy through short-term interest rate adjustments to ensure exchange rate stability. A macroprudential framework which takes into account financial imbalances and inflation dynamics could help achieve this objective, though sustained evidence of political will to prioritize price stability should be shown through economic and monetary policy making practices.
Financial Stability
Financial systems provide families and businesses with money to purchase goods and services, save for future needs, invest, and more. When functioning efficiently, most people don’t give it much thought: when borrowing to finance new cars or expand factories is needed they know they can – as are savings being secure from potential predators.
Central banks are charged with controlling the circulation and interest rates, issuing coins and notes as well as overseeing national payment systems and managing foreign reserves as well as conducting open market operations to regulate exchange rates.
Under periods of financial stress, banks often act as “lenders of last resort”, providing emergency liquidity to prevent bank runs and systemic collapse. But this creates moral hazard, encouraging banks to take riskier gambles knowing that if something goes wrong they’ll likely get bailout support if things go bad – it is a delicate balancing act!
