The main tasks of the Monetary Policy Department are to provide background material for the Executive Board’s monetary policy decisions and to compile the statistics necessary both for this purpose and for meeting international requirements for central bank statistics regarding financial markets and economic developments in general.
As regards the conduct of monetary policy, the department supplies the Executive Board with various kinds of background data. The most important of these data comprise forecasts of inflation and economic activity in Sweden and abroad. As an aid in its forecasting work, the department uses both economic models with a firm foundation in modern economic theory and statistical models with strong forecasting capabilities. These forecasts form the basis of the assessments that are finally presented in the Inflation Report. The department also produces drafts of the boxes in the Inflation Report with the aim of highlighting and providing more comprehensive analysis of certain issues of importance. Moreover, the department assists in drawing up the minutes of the Executive Board’s monetary policy meetings and writes the background material for the Board members’ speeches.
In the statistics field, the department is responsible for Sweden’s balance of payments and money and banking statistics. The statistics produced at the Riksbank include those concerning financial transactions, Sweden’s external position, and investment income. As regards the balance of payments, the Riksbank is also responsible for the publication and international reporting of these statistics.
More information about how the department works when producing an Inflation Report can be found under the link Monetary policy. The statistics produced at the department can be found under the link Balance of payments.
Organisation
The department has approximately 80 employees and is headed by Anders Vredin. The Deputy Heads of the department are Kerstin Hallsten and Tor Jacobsson.
There are six divisions within the department: Economic Policy Analysis, Financial Market Analysis, Modelling, Forecast, Statistics, Applied Research and Research. There is also a body of support staff consisting of advisers and secretaries.