On 3 March 2021, Jens Ulbrich, Director General Economics at the Deutsche Bundesbank, held a guest lecture on the topic of “The monetary policy strategy review” as part of the University’s series of “fireside chats”. Normally these lectures take place in the fireplace room at Hachenburg Castle, which lends the series its name. In this case, the lecture was held virtually.

The Eurosystem's monetary policy strategy review is intended to ensure that the Governing Council of the European Central Bank can continue to capably deliver on its mandate and adequately address the ongoing changes in the macroeconomic environment, e.g. digitalisation and climate change.

© Benedikt Stahl

In his lecture, Jens Ulbrich discussed not only the necessity of the review but also its scale and organisation within the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). “The core of the strategy review process is the price stability objective. Many economists at the Deutsche Bundesbank are currently working on determining whether the formulation of the inflation target or the strategy for reaching that target need to be adjusted in the current low interest rate environment,” Ulbrich said. The possibility of symmetrical inflation targeting is also being discussed, among other alternatives.

Despite the virtual format, interest among students and lecturers was high. So many questions were posed in the chat that Professor Lilli Zimmermann, the moderator for the evening, was unable to work them all into the discussion.

Further information

M. Frenkel, G. Stadtmann and L. Zimmerann (2019), Symmetrisches Inflationsziel, Wirtschaftsstudium (WISU), No. 10, 1131 ff.