“…Accordingly, most researchers study the ECB's monetary policy by estimating interest-rate reaction functions or Taylor rules, relating the economic situation of the euro area to observed interest rates. A number of studies estimate such an aggregate reaction function for the euro area (Gerlach and Schnabel, 2000, Mihov, 2001, Doménech et al, 2002, Fourçans and Vranceanu, 2004, Gerdesmeier and Roffia, 2004, Clausen and Hayo, 2005, Hayo and Hofmann, 2006, Gerlach, 2007. These studies differ substantially in terms of theoretical assumptions, empirical implementation, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, results.…”