Science at FSV UK: How do central bank decisions affect everyday life? Economist Simona Malovaná seeks answers

Central bank decisions often seem like a distant world of data and economic models. But according to economist Simona Malovaná, they significantly affect people's everyday lives. The researcher from FSV UK and director of the Research and Statistics Department at the Czech National Bank focuses on how monetary policy, financial regulation and climate risks affect different groups in society. The combination of analytical thinking and creativity led her to study economics.

“If we want to understand the effects of central bank policies well, we need to monitor not only their average impact, but also how they affect individual groups in society,” she emphasizes in the interview. Her research focuses primarily on the impacts of monetary and macroprudential policies and financial regulations on income and wealth inequality. In a project supported by the Czech Science Foundation, she examines, among other things, how central bank measures, which at first glance may appear technically and neutral, affect different groups of the population.

According to her, working in a central bank and academic research complement each other. While research at the CNB must be highly relevant, timely and applicable to specific decision-making, the academic environment allows for more in-depth work and a longer time horizon. At the faculty, she can focus on questions that may not have an immediate solution or direct use in everyday decision-making.

Read more on our website about research and science at FSV UK.