In that context, the ECB has been engaged in an unprecedented expansion of its monetary policy toolkit to bring inflation back to its objective. Yet these measures have not been uncontroversial, and questions have been raised about their necessity.
What I would like to talk about today, therefore, is not so much what the ECB has done, or how it works, but why the ECB has been so determined to raise inflation. That requires that we first take a closer look at the ECB’s objective.