SBP should be accountable for core functions: expert

Speakers suggest price-targeted approach to improve investor confidence

PESHAWAR:

Speakers have called for better communication of monetary policy having an inclusive, coordinated, socially considerate and price-targeted approach to improve the confidence of investors.

They were participating in a hybrid roundtable session, organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in collaboration with the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade on Friday.

The conference had the title of “Understanding Social Implications of Monetary Policy in Pakistan”.

SDPI Research Fellow Dr Sajid Amin Javed said that monetary policy should be treated similar to a public policy, which was equally relevant and important for the masses as it was to managers and businesses.

The purpose of highlighting the issue was not to criticise functions of the SBP, but to strengthen its status and scope of work, which should be broader than its present role.

On the other hand, the institution should be held accountable for its core functions of controlling inflation and stabilising foreign exchange reserves, he said.

“Inclusiveness and coordination between policy stakeholders are essential for effective design, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of monetary policy,” he added.

Javed was of the view that it could steer balanced economic growth and social development amid controlled inflation and price stability.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade CEO Hassan Daud Butt emphasised that inequality needed to be addressed in terms of monetary policy.

“Social implications of the change in monetary policy for doing business should be discussed and analysed,” he suggested.

The meeting was attended by various members of the academia.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2021.

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