Financial institutions

Medium-term fiscal-structural plans under the revised Stability and Growth Pact

This article analyses the medium-term fiscal-structural plans that euro area countries have submitted under the revised Stability and Growth Pact. It discusses the fiscal and economic implications of this framework over the short and medium term, also factoring in – on a preliminary basis and acknowledging the major uncertainty ahead – the recent proposal by the European Commission to activate the national escape clause in the Stability and Growth Pact in a coordinated manner.

Long-term inflation expectations of consumers: an overview

This box explores the newly available five-year-ahead inflation expectations collected in the ECB Consumer Expectations Survey (CES). While consumers’ beliefs about longer-term inflation expectations are characterised by substantial heterogeneity and dispersion, the median five-year-ahead expectations have been close to the ECB's 2% inflation target since September 2024. This relative stability contrasts with more variable one-year and three-year expectations, which have been more sensitive to actual changes in inflation.

Why monetary policy should crack down harder during high inflation

The recent surge in inflation has led to a significant increase in the frequency of price changes, making prices more flexible. Conventional models assume a constant price change frequency, but in state-dependent models the frequency varies with economic conditions. Price flexibility has an impact on the effectiveness of monetary policy. In high inflation periods, frequent price changes make monetary policy more effective in reducing inflation with less impact on economic activity. Therefore, monetary policy should be more aggressive during such periods to stabilise prices efficiently.

The macroeconomic impact of euro area discretionary fiscal policy measures since the start of the pandemic

This box provides a model-based analysis of the impact of discretionary fiscal policy measures on economic growth and inflation since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as reflected in the March 2025 ECB staff macroeconomic projections for the euro area. Fiscal policy lent substantial support to the euro area economy in response to the pandemic and the energy crisis, while adding to public deficits and debt.

Mortgage refinancing and the marginal propensity to consume

This paper investigates the role of mortgage refinancing in shaping the estimates of marginal propensity to consume (MPC) and its implications for fiscal policy. Using U.S. household data, we find that MPCs decrease during the year of mortgage refinancing and stabilize afterwards, particularly among households with lower liquid assets, higher debtto-income ratios, and valuable illiquid assets. The empirical evidence suggests that refinancing provides extra liquidity, reducing MPCs.

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