3.15 Research activity of the MNB

rate policies of the NCBs of non-euro area Member States and the ECB.

Organisational Development Committee (ODC): The ODC was set up in July 2013 with only euro area members. It assists the work of ECB decision-makers with proposals regarding the planning and organisational issues related to the operation of the Eurosystem and the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). In addition, it also coordinates the work of the Eurosystem Procurement Coordination Office (EPCO) and runs the operational risk management and business continuity system of the Eurosystem/ESCB.

Risk Management Committee (RMC): The RMC was set up in September 2010 and comprises euro area members only. Its task is to assist the work of ECB decision-makers in managing and controlling risks arising from the market operations of the Eurosystem by means of analyses and proposals.

Statistics Committee (STC): The STC assists in the collection of statistical information required for carrying out the tasks of the ESCB. It contributes, inter alia, to the elaboration and cost-effective application of necessary modifications in statistical data collection.

Other committees assisting the work of the ESCB:

Budget Committee (BUCOM): This Committee assists the Governing Council of the ECB in issues concerning the budget of the ECB; its members are the central banks of euro area Member States.

Human Resources Conference (HRC): Established in 2005, the objective of this committee is to serve as a forum for the central banks of the Eurosystem/ESCB in the exchange of information, opinion and experiences on issues concerning the management of human resources.

In 2020, the results of research conducted at the MNB were published in a total of 14 international academic journals or working paper series, and domestic economic journals also published a total of 40 studies written by MNB authors.

The purpose of the research activity performed by various directorates of the MNB is to support the central bank’s decision-making. The results of the research are published in international and domestic scientific journals and the MNB’s internal publications, in the MNB Working Papers (typically published in English only), in the MNB Occasional Papers series and in the Financial and Economic Review. In addition to the publications, the representation of the MNB at international conferences and in the research networks and working groups coordinated by the ECB all form a part of the MNB’s research activity.

In 2020, the September 2020 issue of one of the best-known and most influential top economic journals, American Economic Review, included a study co-authored by an MNB researcher on the real economic impacts of foreign currency lending to households in the event of exchange rate depreciation. Furthermore, a study written by an MNB co-author was published in the March 2020 issue of the Journal of Macroeconomics, which considers the factors determining the impacts of fiscal policy on real economy; also in March 2020, Economic Systems published an MNB study on the impact of EU subsidies on small and mediumsized enterprises in Hungary; and in September 2020, Environment and Planning A published a study written by an MNB co-author on the differences in the use of the financial sector by households in Hungary and in the United States. In addition, in 2020 the Journal of Banking and Finance accepted an MNB study to be published in January 2021, which investigates the impact of the Funding for Growth Scheme (FGS) on small enterprises; and Economic Modelling also accepted a study, written by an MNB co-author, to be published in February 2021, on the impact of monetary policy on income inequality. Besides these, the Journal of Money, Credit and Banking accepted an MNB study on the relationship between fiscal policy and nominal interest rates for publication in 2021 (at a date to be determined); and the International Journal of Forecasting also accepted a study, written by an MNB co-author, for publication in 2021, which examines the use of questionnaire surveys in economic forecasts. Finally, in 2020, five additional international journals accepted MNB studies for conditional publication after revision (‘Revise&Resubmit’); some of these are expected to be actual international publications in 2021 or 2022.

In addition to international journals, studies by MNB researchers and analysts also appeared in publications of foreign central banks, international institutions and universities. The ECB Working Papers series published a study written by an MNB co-author in March 2020, which examined the expected real economic impacts of the coronavirus; a slightly modified version of the same study was published in the Spanish central bank’s Working Papers series, in the influential Discussion Papers series of the London-based Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) as well as in its online newspaper VoxEU. Furthermore, the Ukrainian central bank’s Working Papers series published a study, written by an MNB co-author, on the equilibrium level of household lending in Ukraine; and the Working