Central bank communication with non-experts: A road to nowhere?

Arbeitspapier

Central banks have intensified their communication with non-experts - an endeavour which some have argued is bound to fail. This paper studies English and German Twitter traffic about the ECB to understand whether its communication is received by non-experts and how it affects their views. It shows that Twitter traffic is responsive to ECB communication, also for non-experts. For several ECB communication events, Twitter constitutes primarily a channel to relay information: tweets become more factual and the views expressed more moderate and homogeneous. Other communication events, such as former President Draghi's "Whatever it takes" statement, trigger persistent traffic and a divergence in views. Also, ECB-related tweets are more likely to get retweeted or liked if they express stronger or more subjective views. Thus, Twitter also serves as a platform for controversial discussions. The findings suggest that central banks manage to reach non-experts, i.e. their communication is not a road to nowhere.

Object Details

• ISBN: 978-92-899-4817-3
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: ECB Working Paper ; No. 2594

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Monetary Policy ; Central Banks and Their Policies
• Subject: monetary policy ; central bank communication ; social media ; non-experts

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Ehrmann, Michael ; Wabitsch, Alena
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): European Central Bank (ECB)
• (where): Frankfurt a. M.
• (when): 2021

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.2866/196376
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/246171
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET