Similarly, the temptation to pursue policy actions inconsistent with the objective – and hence renege on its commitment – may be diminished, because large or persistent deviations of inflation from the stated goal would be observed by the public and thus would be more likely to be called into question.
As I argued in a speech last week, accountability is further enhanced if the inflation objective is stated as a numerical value rather than a range or comfort zone. 13 But couldn't a numerical inflation objective be easily changed at the whim of the central bank or the government?