Iikka Korhonen

Interdisciplinary seminars
finance seminar

Iikka Korhonen

Bank of Finland Institute for Economies in Transition (BOFIT)
Mastering central bank communication challenges via Twitter
Joint with
Elisa Newby
online
Date(s)
Tuesday, December 8 2020| 2:30pm
Contact(s)

Eric Girardin: eric.girardin[at]univ-amu.fr
Christelle Lecourt: christelle.lecourt[at]univ-amu.fr

Abstract

This study examines the Twitter policies and use of European central banks. Almost every European central bank maintains an institutional Twitter account, but tweeting activity, tweet content and usage restrictions on Twitter use by individual staff members vary considerably. We further consider the evolution of Twitter use by European central banks in light of the growing importance of financial stability in central bank policy messaging. To study these is-sues, we create a database of tweets from European central banks and financial supervisors, as well as attempt to gauge how closely professional economists follow central banks on Twitter. Central banks’ Twitter activity has no relation to citizens’ online participation. We also find that central banks’ communication on financial stability with Twitter has increased over time, especially in comparison with monetary policy.