The different responses of those central banks reflect their institutional framework as well as the economic circumstances of the respective countries. On one hand, the SNB has been more flexible than the ECB. The ECB is a new institution without historical record. Moreover, the ECB has a strict mandate of maintaining low inflation, and there have been upward inflationary pressures in certain European countries due to the convergence process. Those factors induced a less aggressive easing of monetary policy in an uncertain environment. In contrast, with traditionally low inflation, the credibility of the SNB is strong, which allows it to react quickly to economic shocks without creating turmoil in financial markets. In the past few years we have thus been able to act in a flexible way, with our own timing, in order to respond to the global economic slowdown and pressures on the Swiss franc. On the other hand, the SNB reacted less strongly than the Federal Reserve to the deterioration of the international economic environment. The United States is a relatively closed economy where the Federal Reserve mandate is broader than price stability. In contrast, our freedom to maneuver is limited by the openness of our economy. In a small and open economy, monetary activism cannot  4  BIS Review 32/2004  fine-tune economic activity. Institutional and economic characteristics of the different countries and central banks have thus implied differentiated monetary policy profiles. 5.
Dr Abbas is also the recipient of several awards from several governments and from the Islamic Development Bank, he received the Annual Prize for Research in Islamic Economics in recognition of his service in advancing the knowledge in Islamic finance. He has published books and research articles on a wide range of areas including microeconomic theory, mathematical economics and Islamic economics. During his tenure at INCEIF, Dr. Abbas will also engage in research and consultancy in on Islamic finance, including guiding academic research and supervising dissertations and theses of INCEIF students. He will also present lectures abroad organised by INCEIF as part of the efforts to strengthen the international alliances that have been established with INCEIF BIS Review 9/2010  1  from other centres of learning in other parts of the world. His appointment as the inaugural holder of INCEIF Chair of Islamic Finance would certainly give INCEIF the opportunity to raise its capacity to become a world class learning institution dedicated to Islamic Finance. Dr Abbas valuable knowledge and insights and his extensive experience in both academia and at the IMF, will benefit and enhance the knowledge and expertise of INCEIF graduates as well as the academia and financial community. Since its establishment in 2006, INCEIF has grown from strength to strength and has been recording a steady increase in the number of students for its three programmes, the Chartered Islamic Finance Professional or the CIFP, Masters in Islamic Finance and PhD in Islamic Finance.