Tomas
Monetary Analysis
PPE, Oxford; MSc Economics, LSE
I currently work as an analyst in the Monetary Analysis directorate of the Bank. My role is to monitor developments in the euro area countries and feed into the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) policy decision.
So what does that mean on a day-to-day basis?
The first thing I normally do in the morning is spend some time reading about euro-area developments in the news stories and brokers’ circulars. I could be looking for information about anything from data releases to new policy initiatives.
Preparing for the MPC meeting
The rest of the day very much depends on where we are relative to the next MPC meeting and Inflation Report. In the run-up to the MPC meeting, I’ll spend time thinking about what the main developments have been in the euro area over the last month – and how we might want to present these to the MPC. Then I’ll help to put together the pre-meeting briefing presentation.
Producing “think pieces”
In the run-up to the Inflation Report, I’ll spend time trying to tie down how those developments translate into our economic forecast for the euro area. I also work on lots of “think pieces”, where we try to answer a question that might help contribute to the MPC’s policy decision.
Because monetary policy follows a monthly cycle, the type of work I do varies from week to week. In the run-up to the monthly meetings where we brief the MPC on the latest data, I spend a lot of time analysing and interpreting information and producing charts. I have regular meetings with colleagues and managers where we discuss our findings and piece together a coherent story to present to the MPC.
Working on long-term research projects
Following the MPC meeting, there are usually a couple of weeks when we have time to engage in longer-term analysis and research. I might use this time to write an article for the Quarterly Bulletin, or to meet with colleagues from other divisions to discuss the key challenges facing the MPC.
Supporting senior colleagues
In addition, I sometimes receive an urgent ad-hoc request from the Chief Economist or one of the MPC members to produce a short written briefing, or some charts on a topic that I may or may not be very familiar with. So there are quite a few things to juggle at the same time. The challenge each day is to prioritise and manage my time in a way that keeps my ‘to do’ list under control. It can be hard work sometimes, but it’s very rewarding and stimulating.