Ladies and gentlemen, The topic for this session – “the limitations of monetary policy” – is one that has attracted a great deal of attention since the beginning of the financial crisis. Circumstances have forced all major central banks to resort to instruments and policies carefully tailored to the unusual situation. Alex Cukierman and Michael Woodford, who will present their views on the issue in a few minutes, are among the prominent academics that have written about it extensively. [1] Before handing the floor to them, let me say a few words about the current situation in the euro area, about our perspective at ... (full story)