Philip R Lane: Statistical implications of the European Central Bank's monetary policy strategy review

Speech by Mr Philip R Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, at the International Association for Official Statistics (IAOS) Conference, Kraków, 27 April 2022.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Introduction

I am grateful for the invitation to participate in the 2022 conference of the International Association of Official Statistics (IAOS). A regular dialogue between the producers and users of official statistics is essential in order to make sure that the statistics underpinning research and policymaking are properly understood by end users, while also identifying the potential for possible further improvements in the scope and design of official statistics.

In my remarks today, I will focus on two statistical issues that were highlighted in our recent monetary policy strategy review. As you may know, the ECB completed its monetary policy strategy review in July 2021. In general, our monetary policy strategy provides a comprehensive framework within which we take our monetary policy decisions and communicate them to the public. The strategy review covered all aspects of monetary policy within the framework of our mandate, which is to maintain price stability. In relation to statistical requirements, the Governing Council recommended a more comprehensive inclusion of owner-occupied housing in the calculation of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) and also identified a set of climate-related statistical indicators that would facilitate the ability of the ECB to integrate climate change and the carbon transition into its economic assessments and monetary policy framework. In what follows, I will explain these two issues in more detail.