Jean-Pierre Roth: Once a student, always a student
Summary of a speech by Mr Jean-Pierre Roth, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss
National Bank, at the University of Bern, Switzerland, 9 February 2006.
The complete speech can be found in German on the Swiss National Bank's website (www.snb.ch).
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Like all decisions relating to the future, monetary policy decisions involve numerous uncertainties.
Economic researchers are divided as regards both the effects of monetary policy and the form that this
policy should take. There are a number of competing models in economic theory, and their policy
recommendations often vary. Relationships that have been stable in the past may change at any time,
due to the fact that the structural equations used in economic models are not based on the laws of
nature. The Swiss National Bank's monetary policy concept takes account of these uncertainties. Our
inflation forecast is a key element in this concept and combines the results obtained by a variety of
different models. Research is extremely important in our changing world. We can only be sure of
identifying new developments as early as possible and basing our monetary policy decisions on a solid
foundation if we engage in constant research.