Although the post-crisis politicisation of the ECB is widely acknowledged, little empirical evidence exists about how this important non-majoritarian institution has responded to public contestation. This article starts filling this gap by investigating whether and how public opinion affects ECB communication. Based on automated text analysis of the speeches delivered by Executive Board members (2001–2017), the article shows that negative public opinion is associated with an expansion of the scope of ECB communication and a reduction in the salience attributed to monetary policy issues. These results challenge the view according to which the ECB conceives of its sources of legitimation based almost exclusive on the achievement of its mandate. In particular, our findings suggest that increased politicisation leads the ECB to reassess the sources of its legitimation strategy from a strategy based on output achievement towards one based on participation to broader policy debates.

Let's speak more? How the ECB responds to public contestation

Moschella, Manuela
;
Pinto, Luca;Martocchia Diodati, Nicola
2020

Abstract

Although the post-crisis politicisation of the ECB is widely acknowledged, little empirical evidence exists about how this important non-majoritarian institution has responded to public contestation. This article starts filling this gap by investigating whether and how public opinion affects ECB communication. Based on automated text analysis of the speeches delivered by Executive Board members (2001–2017), the article shows that negative public opinion is associated with an expansion of the scope of ECB communication and a reduction in the salience attributed to monetary policy issues. These results challenge the view according to which the ECB conceives of its sources of legitimation based almost exclusive on the achievement of its mandate. In particular, our findings suggest that increased politicisation leads the ECB to reassess the sources of its legitimation strategy from a strategy based on output achievement towards one based on participation to broader policy debates.
2020
Settore SPS/04 - Scienza Politica
ECB, legitimacy, politicisation, communication, central banking, public opinion
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Descrizione: Accesso Aperto MIUR - Nome del programma: SIR bando 2014 - Acronimo del progetto: UNCENTRAL - Numero di contratto: RBSI14KCWY - Data di pubblicazione: 25/02/2020 - Scheda di progetto con tutti i soggetti che hanno concorso alla realizzazione del paper: Manuela Moschella, Luca Pinto, Nicola Martocchia Diodati
Tipologia: Published version
Licenza: Creative Commons
Dimensione 2.57 MB
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2.57 MB Adobe PDF

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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11384/83091
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