Monetary Policy in the Euro Area: Strategy and Decision-Making at the European Central Bank

How and for whose benefit the European Central Bank (ECB) will work is one of the most important issues facing Europe, and has been the subject of vast media and academic interest. Much of this discussion has been of an increasingly emotional and political nature and has served to blur rather than inform. Written by a team at the ECB, including Otmar Issing, its Chief Economist, this study provides the first comprehensive, inside, non-technical analysis of the monetary policy strategy, institutional features and operational procedures of the Eurosystem.

"...a lot of useful and well-written information..." Albrecht Ritschl, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, H-Net

"This short book is a remarkable attempt to cut through the maze of regulation and Eurospeak in order to illuminate the structure and functioning of the European Central Bank...much can be learend from it; not just from the material, but from the mere fact that it has been written at all. Such work should become more common. I recommend it without reservation." Eastern Economic Journal James L. Barbour, Elon University