In this way, monetary policy can provide additional support for the euro area economy even though our policy rates are already very low. This forward guidance has been a success, as shown by a Bundesbank research paper, amongst others. [6] Less has been done so far to research our communication with the general public.
The available research indicates that monetary policy through this channel has barely affected the expectations of households and ﬁrms so far. [7] It is precisely these inﬂation expectations that matter when it comes to price movements on the goods markets: when households are making decisions about their purchases, when companies are setting the prices of their products or employers and trade unions are negotiating wages.