Against this background, the Riksbank has contacted the CPI Enquiry, set up by the Government, to obtain assistance in specifying an indicator of underlying inflation that is likely to be widely accepted and can be published regularly by Statistics Sweden. In the future, such an indicator might be able to have a more direct function in monetary policy, either by replacing the CPI as the target variable or by serving as an operational target or aid in the continuous work of constructing policy. The Riksbank has also asked Statistics Sweden to publish, for the time being, one or more indicators of underlying inflation together with the CPI. Perhaps I should emphasise that in no way do these initiatives alter monetary policy’s fundamental commitment to price stability. The current situation for monetary policy The question of transitory effects leads me on to current monetary policy. Transitory effects are playing a major part in the CPI’s present development. As a result of tax changes, lower interest rates and a lower oil price, since December the Riksbank has had to revise the 1998 CPI prediction downwards by about 1.2 percentage points. In 1999, too, transitory effects mean that CPI inflation will be lower than we envisaged earlier. Thus far, however, the altered picture of inflation need not have any sizeable consequences for monetary policy. It is now too late to influence this year’s path for inflation more than marginally.
Mr. Heikensten examines economic policy and the fight against inflation in Sweden Speech by the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Sweden, Mr. Lars Heikensten, at the Meeting of Almega-Affiliated Employers’ Associations on 27/5/98. Thank you for the invitation to attend your meeting and talk about economic policy and inflation. Today I shall begin with a brief review of the historical background to the fight against inflation in the Swedish economy. It is worth recalling that more than eight years have passed since it was decided in Sweden that combating inflation would have top priority. This policy has been pursued consistently ever since. After a couple of initial years that were troublesome in many ways, the results have been encouraging and Swedish stabilisation policy now looks good even in a European comparison. This will be followed by a discussion of three policy fields—fiscal policy, labour market and wage formation—that are closely linked to monetary policy, as well as some remarks about competitive conditions in Sweden’s economy. Successful results in these policy fields enlarge the room to manoeuvre in monetary policy. In conclusion I shall consider some topical monetary policy issues, including our current appraisal of inflation and monetary policy’s construction. 1. The fight against inflation and its results High inflation characterised Sweden’s economy for a number of years in the 1970s and 1980s, a period that clearly illustrates an inflation economy’s negative consequences. Repeated attempts were made to rectify the economic imbalances by means of devaluations and fiscal stimuli but development remained unstable.