A book on monetary policy and central banks by long-standing Bank of Finland economists is published today. Antti Suvanto’s and Jarmo Kontulainen’s work “The ECB announced today...
Monetary policy in the calm and the storm” guides the reader in an illustrative way into the heart of monetary policy preparation. The book was presented at the Bank of Finland Museum in Helsinki on 15 August 2016.
The book focuses on the monetary policy-making of the European Central Bank (ECB) as well as the implementation of decisions. The financial crisis showed how important it is that central banks are able to react quickly and resolutely to unforeseen situations in the economy in order to keep inflation and the financial system stable. The book now covers these stages in Finnish for the first time.
Governor of the Bank of Finland Erkki Liikanen stated at the publication event that the work is the first comprehensive account of the ECB and monetary policy during the time of the euro to be published in Finland. “Antti Suvanto and Jarmo Kontulainen have had key roles in monetary policy preparation from the 1990s’ banking crisis to the present day,” said Liikanen, who hopes that the book will reach a wide readership. “Their book is suitable for anyone interested in monetary policy and also as a textbook.”~
Suvanto and Kontulainen write on a practical 
level about the changes faced by the economy and central banks in recent years. “The financial crisis changed everything, and expectations directed at the central banks increased. At one point it seemed that the central banks had become ‘the only game in town’,” states the preface to the book. “The book aims to raise awareness not only of the opportunities of monetary policy but also its limitations,” say Suvanto and Kontulainen.
Antti Suvanto Ph.D. worked in the Bank of Finland from 1989 to 2016. He served, among other positions, as Head of the Monetary Policy and Research Department, and most recently as Adviser to the Board of the Bank of Finland. Jarmo Kontulainen M.Sc. works in the Monetary Policy and Research Department as Principal Adviser with responsibility for the monetary policy analysis and preparation process. He is a member of the European System of Central Banks’ Monetary Policy Committee.
The book (published in Finnish, titled “EKP ilmoitti tänään… Rahapolitiikka tyynessä ja myrskyssä”) is on sale at the Bank of Finland Museum, Snellmaninkatu 2, Helsinki. The book is published by Docendo.