Resources

To assist you in your participation, we have made a number of resources available to you:

Introductory material

  • The European Central Bank (ECB) has a series of explanatory notes on the world of central banking on this page. If you want to learn more specifically about monetary policy, go here.
  • The ECB and the Eurosystem Central Banks also offer a number of educational videos. For an initial introduction to monetary policy, see the ECB's The Eurosystem in three minutes video. Other videos can be found on the ECB's Youtube channel and that of the Banque centrale du Luxembourg.
  • You will also find an Introduction to central banking and monetary policy in the euro area on page 8 of the teachers' brochure below.

Monetary policy decisions

  • During the competition, it is important to be familiar with monetary policy decisions, especially for the second round, where you will have to write such a decision based on an economic and on a monetary and financial analysis of the euro area. Therefore, we advise you to consult the latest monetary policy decisions on this page.
  • As part of the strategic review of its monetary policy, the ECB decided in July 2021 to redefine one of the most important concepts for monetary policy-making: price stability. From now on, price stability is defined as a rise in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) over the medium term of 2%. This objective is now symmetrical, i.e. negative and positive deviations are equally undesirable. In addition, the Governing Council is considering the gradual inclusion of owner-occupied housing costs in the calculation of inflation.  For more information on this subject, please visit this page.

Macroeconomic projections

  • As the monetary policy decision you will draft in the second step will have to be based on macroeconomic projections, it is a good idea to consult the ECB's projections here.
  • The Eurostat press releases will also be useful. Find them here.

 

Even if all this information may seem like a lot at once, don't worry! The BCL organises preparation sessions to help you with each test of the competition.