The euro area stock market capitalisation also has increased perceptibly over the last years, namely from 21% of GDP at the end of 1990 to 45% of GDP at the end of 2003. Furthermore, the number of listed companies in the euro area grew from around 4,300 at the end of 1990 to around 6,700 at the end of 2003.
In an important analysis of the issue of central bank transparency, my FOMC colleague William Poole laid out a benchmark case in which the potential benefits of communication would be fully realized (Poole, 2003). In this benchmark case, the central bank has well-defined objectives and pursues regular and systematic policies consistent with those objectives.