Conference: Inflation Challenges in an Era of Relative Price Shocks, June and August 2009

The recent surge in global commodity prices, particularly food and energy, has produced a significant relative price shock and this raises a number of interesting and important questions. A first set of questions relate to the causes and nature of the shock. What are the causes of these price changes? Are they truly a shift in relative prices or do they represent a fundamental shift in global inflation with global demand growing faster than supply? In the former case, are the changes likely to be temporary or permanent? How are domestic imbalances transmitted to the world economy? A second set of questions relate to how policy makers should respond. For example, how do relative price shocks influence policy making among central banks that follow different strategies, from inflation targeting to exchange rate targeting, and how are these communicated to the public? These questions are the focus of two conferences, one to be held in Munster, Germany in June 2009, and a Follow up conference in Sidney, Australie during August 2009. Information available from organizing institutions' websites: [Reserve Bank of Australia] [ANU] [Viessman European Research Centre] [Univ. of Muenster - Monetary Economics Chair] [Univ. of Muenster - International Economics Chair].