Incoming BoE deputy governor Lombardelli: Bernanke review offers a 'great opportunity' to improve policymaking

Treasury Committee hearing

Incoming Bank of England deputy governor for monetary policy Clare Lombardelli has said Ben Bernanke's review into the central bank’s modelling and forecasting provides a “great opportunity” to improve policymaking.

At a Treasury Committee hearing today (16 April), the chief economist of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development argued it was a "good thing" the BoE was open to the review process, particularly considering that "very large errors" have been seen across central banks in recent years, including the UK. This was due to the "nature" of the large economic shocks in recent years, she added, which made it difficult for "standard" economic models and forecasts to cope, which led to errors and an inability to provide "reliable estimates". As such, she argued models "can add...