ECB chief economist Philip Lane awarded honorary life membership of UCD Economics Society
Posted 17 April, 2024
European Central Bank (ECB) chief economist Philip Lane is this year’s Thomas Kettle awardee, receiving honorary life membership of UCD Economics Society.
The former governor of the Central Bank of Ireland was presented with the award by Society Auditor Hannah Sommerville as part of a lecture at University College Dublin on the recent evolution of inflation in the Euro area and its impact on monetary policy.
He (opens in a new window)told members of the UCD Economics Society that he was confident that euro zone inflation was on course to hit the ECB’s 2% target next year after a "bumpy" road that will see it hover near current levels for a time.
"Even if the near-term inflation outlook is somewhat bumpy, the projected convergence of inflation to the target in 2025 will be underpinned by; the lowering of labour cost pressures; some additional compression of unit profits; the dissipation of the adverse effects of past energy shocks, supply bottlenecks and the pandemic re-opening; and the further unfolding of the disinflationary impact of the restrictive monetary policy stance,” Mr Lane said.
In his talk, the ECB economist warned a reduction in consumers prices was unlikely to be smooth, saying that gains in wage and service costs could remain elevated.
"We will continue to follow a data-dependent and meeting-by-meeting approach to determining the appropriate level and duration of restriction,” Mr Lane said.
“Wage pressures are gradually moderating but remain elevated compared to a steady-state benchmark.”
The Thomas Kettle Award, which bestows an honorary life membership to the UCD Economics Society, is named in honour of Thomas Kettle - the first Professor of National Economics at University College Dublin and also one of the founders of the then Legal and Economics Society.
Other previous recipients of the award included Peter Sutherland SC, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, Professor Jeffrey Sachs, David McWilliams, and Bob Geldof.
By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
