Oceans apart

摘要

For such a young institution, the European Central Bank (ecb) has some old-fashioned ideas. Unlike the Federal Reserve, its older American cousin, it still collects and publishes estimates of M3, a broad measure of the money supply. The ecb pays heed to these statistics too-or at least to the matching figures on credit growth. This ritual nod to the idea that inflation is caused by too much money seems more quaint than it should, but nevertheless adds to the bank's prim image.