The press conference is webcast live and usually broadcast on TV. People can subscribe to receive an SMS message about interest rate decisions, and Norges Bank was apparently the first central bank to publish its interest rate decisions on Twitter. International developments have made it prestigious for central banks to be as open as possible. But transparency cannot be a goal in itself. Our responsibility is to conduct an effective monetary policy in line with the objectives laid down by the political authorities. Transparency beyond that necessary to ensure democratic accountability is a goal derived from the main goal of conducting an optimal monetary policy. 18  Lars E. O. Svensson, Deputy Governor at Sveriges Riksbank, has argued that it is possible to evaluate monetary policy actions ex ante. See Lars E. O. Svensson (2009): “Policy Expectations and Policy Evaluations: The Role of Transparency and Communication”, address at the conference “Tio år med självständig Riksbank (Ten years with an independent Riksbank)” 11 September 2009. 19  See Nergiz Dincer and Barry Eichengreen (2009): “Central bank transparency: causes, consequences and updates”, NBER Working Paper 14791 and Petra M. Geraats (2009): “Trends in Monetary Policy Transparency”, in International Finance, 12, no. 2, pp. 235-268. 20  The new legal text establishes the so-called principle of free access to public records which provides public access to central and local government documents and the right to be present at sittings of the courts and of administrative bodies elected by the people.
This may encourage exploitation of the cumulative learning process in the scientific community as a whole, by which existing empirical models are improved or (eventually) overtaken by new and better ones.”See Steinar Juel, Krisztina Molnaad and Knut Røed (2008) “An Independent Review of Monetary Policymaking in Norway”, Centre for Monetary Economics BI, p. 44. BIS Review 140/2009  11  Because models are rough simplifications of reality, we must exercise considerable judgment when we use them. This is not always easy to document and explain. But, even though it may be difficult, it is not impossible and our aim is to improve in this area. The management of the Government Pension Fund – Global is another activity of Norges Bank where transparency is important. Among the world’s sovereign pension funds, Norway’s is one of the most transparent. International organisations refer to it as an example of best practice. In Norway, the Fund has been both applauded and criticised for its communication. The Fund’s annual report was one among six others nominated for the Farmand award for best annual report and website. However, the same report was also strongly criticised by the Norwegian journalist Per Egil Hegge for its impenetrable language. 54 We are working towards improving our communication of the Fund’s activity. The Fund’s ultimate owners are the Norwegian people and we must improve the communication of the main management principles to that target group. We are making continuous efforts to improve our quarterly reports and our annual report.