The use of surveys for monetary and economic policy

Call for papers 

Submission deadline: 27 January 2023

Over the past years, surveys have gained importance to supplement information from “hard” economic data on various aspects of the economy, and to provide timely insights on the impact of sudden and unexpected events, such as the health and the energy crises. Available surveys cover a broad range of economic actors and sectors: households, firms, financial institutions, and economic and financial forecasters. Central banks, policy institutions and academia are using insights from such surveys increasingly to inform policy decisions. That said, existing surveys also have many limitations and their interpretations are often subject to caveats; moreover, survey methods and research are currently developing very rapidly, given a changing economic environment, with new pressing policy and research questions emerging at a rapid pace.

SUERF - The European Money and Finance Forum, Banca d’Italia, the ECB (European Central Bank) and the EIB (European Investment Bank) will host a joint conference on “The use of surveys for monetary and economic policy”. The conference will be held in person at the Banca d’ Italia, in Rome, Italy, with the option to participate online, on April 26-27, 2023. The event is scheduled for 1 ½ days starting from 26 April afternoon.

Confirmed speakers include a keynote lecture by Professor Stefanie Stantcheva (Harvard University) on the use of surveys for economic policy and a high-ranking policy panel discussing policy perspectives with senior representatives from key institutions.

Research papers in the sessions will be commented by expert discussants followed by Q&A. A detailed program will be released once submissions from the call for papers have been evaluated and selected.

This call for papers invites original research – theoretical or empirical, academic or policy-oriented – on “The use of surveys for monetary and economic policy”. Submissions should preferably take the form of full draft papers written in English.

Papers may relate to surveys among households, firms, financial institutions including banks, and other relevant parties, such as market analysists, forecasters etc.

Papers may, inter alia, focus on the role of surveys on topics related to: monetary and economic policy issues; firms’ investment decisions and financing constraints; unique and unexpected events (e.g. COVID-19, the energy crisis); inflation expectations and perceptions; household consumption and savings decisions; the effectiveness of central bank communication; as well as methodological questions related to survey design, biases, etc.

The deadline for paper submission is January 27, 2023. Completed papers in PDF format should be submitted through Conference Maker.

Papers will be selected by a Scientific Committee comprising experts from SUERF, the Banca d’Italia, the ECB and the EIB. Authors will be notified by end-February/early-March 2023.

Authors of selected papers will be invited to present their work at the workshop and to publish a short policy-oriented version as a SUERF Policy Brief. Authors should preferably present their papers in person; in exceptional cases, online participation may be possible. Authors affiliated with central banks and other institutions are requested to cover their own travel costs. Authors from academic institutions are eligible for a reimbursement of their travel costs.

Scientific committee

• David Loschiavo and Concetta Rondinelli (Banca d’Italia, local organizers)
• Ernest Gnan (SUERF)
• Geoff Kenny and Dimitris Georgarakos (ECB)
• Matteo Gatti and Peter Harasztosi (EIB)