Empirical results from several countries regarding the impact of inflation targets on monetary policy credibility

In this article, we discuss the recent literature analyzing the experience of countries having adopted inflation targets and provide some simple statistical tests for determining the link between the adoption of inflation targets and the credibility of monetary policy. The literature survey and empirical results lead us to conclude that certain statistical properties of inflation may have changed in recent years, and that monetary policy seems to have become more credible in a number of countries, including Canada. Yet the available data do not allow us to conclude with any certainty that explicit inflation targets have played a significant role in these changes.