1     Organization and mission

Research in Norges Bank[1] is mainly organized in a separate unit under the monetary policy department, Norges Bank’s research unit (NBR). The mission of NBR is to support Norges Bank’s central banking activities in achieving its main policy objectives of, i.e., maintaining monetary stability and promoting the stability of the financial system and an efficient and secure payment system.[2] NBR is a regular part of the Central Bank’s organization but has an independent scientific position. The executive director of monetary policy has managerial responsibility and authority for NBR. Scientifically, NBR functions independently under the responsibility and authority of the research director.

2     Activities

The expertise in NBR shall reflect the need to ensure a sound basis for decision making in the areas of monetary policy, financial stability and market operations. NBR provides support in several ways. First, by conducting high-quality research in areas of importance to the Bank, aiming for publication in well recognized, peer‐reviewed journals. Second, through research‐based economic analysis to support Norges Bank’s goal to conduct policy analyses using methods from the economic research frontier. Researchers are expected to develop recommendations that are relevant and actionable. Third, by acting as a link to the global academic community, providing staff and policymakers with access to recognized experts within fields of interest to the Bank. Fourth, by offering stable access to a pool of internal researchers with expertise in theoretical and empirical methods of relevance to central banking.

Researchers in NBR should spend on average 50 percent of their work time on undirected research and 50 percent on directed research. In directed research the topic of study or question that is investigated has been set or explicitly approved by management, while the methodology, analysis and conclusions are produced under the academic responsibility of the researcher(s). In undirected research, economists decide independently on the topic of their research.  Employees inside and outside NBR conduct research under the same academic principles.

3     Independence of research

NBR has been acknowledged as a research institution by the Research Council of Norway[3].  Norges Bank is committed to the academic independence of its researchers. All analyses published by researchers in working papers or academic journals or summarized in other publications exclusively represent the conclusions reached by the authors.

Other than through NBR’s own academic routines to maintain academic standards, the management of Norges Bank is not at any stage of the research involved in the approval of research results or the publication process of research.

Direct and indirect superiors of the research director shall therefore refrain from giving instructions about the research methods used or the content of the reports published under the responsibility of the research department such as working papers or peer-reviewed articles. The term “reports” should be interpreted broadly. This means, for example, that they can discuss and comment on reports but not impose changes.

Decisions on the publication of working papers are taken under the authority and responsibility of the research director by the working paper editor based on academic standards alone[4]. This means that research by economists published in Norges Bank working papers and subsequently in academic journals does not necessarily reflect the views of Norges Bank.

Researchers always retain final authority and responsibility for their work, including deciding on methodology, analysis, conclusions, and presentation, among other things.

Researchers also support work by and collaborate with NB employees outside NBR. When such work is published in other publications than working papers, e.g., blogs or staff memos, the approval process follows the publication’s own editorial routine and can involve managerial approval.

4     Ethics, professional standards, conflicts of interest and disclosure

Norges Bank’s staff must follow ethical principles that include rules to avoid and deal with potential conflicts of interest to which all employees must adhere to.[5] These policies outline the institution’s guidelines and procedures for identifying, resolving, disclosing and/or otherwise managing real, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that may arise.

NB researchers are expected to meet the highest standards of research quality and professional ethics that safeguard independence and integrity. They must follow the Code of Professional Conduct and the Ethical Principles for the European Economist of the European Economic Association and the Code of Conduct of the European Finance Association.

NBR has a Disclosure policy for research co-authored with Norges Bank employees for outside collaborators, who are not employees or do not have formal affiliations with the institution (cf. attachment).

5     Financing of research

NBR researchers do not accept any form of external research funding but may collaborate with researchers who have received third party funding for their research. This implies, for example, that researchers can take part in a grant application, without themselves being a beneficiary. Researchers can also accept reimbursement of their travel costs, while following the standards set in the guideline for travelling on behalf of Norges Bank (internal document), when they are invited to present their research or discuss research at a conference, an academic department, a research institute, or a policy institution.

In cases of collaborative efforts with scholars from other institutions, NB researchers always retain final authority and responsibility for their work, including deciding on methodology, analysis, conclusions, and presentation, among other things.

As part of their professional activities, researchers in NBR are, conditional on written pre-approval by the research director and the executive director of monetary policy, permitted to hold a part-time (up to 20% of a full-time) position at a university or a research institute to teach or do research in their field of specialization. Researchers are also permitted to act as an editor of an academic peer reviewed journal or write referee reports in their field of specialization for working papers at other central banks and policy institutions.

6     Communication

Researchers are expected to write, publish, and communicate about their research and findings under normal academic standards but should normally follow Norges Bank’s rules on blackout periods around policy decisions.

7     Entry into force

This policy enters into force immediately.

Attachment

Disclosure policy for research co-authored with Norges Bank employees

Any research paper must conform to the following disclosure principles:

Before starting work on a joint project, external co-authors must inform NBR of the sources of financial support they received over the past five years, other than from their academic institution or publicly funded research funds.

Each author of a submitted article should identify each interested party from whom he or she has received significant financial support, summing to at least Euro 1,000 in the past five years, in the form of consultant fees, retainers, grants and the like. The disclosure requirement also includes in kind support, such as providing free or subsidized access to privately-owned data. If the support in question comes with a non-disclosure obligation, that fact should be stated, along with as much information as the obligation permits. If there are no such sources of funds, that fact should be stated explicitly. An “interested” party is any individual, group, or organization that has a financial, ideological, or political stake related to the article.

Each author should disclose any paid or unpaid positions as officer including roles as director, or board member of relevant non-profit organizations or profit-making entities. A “relevant” organization is one whose policy positions, goals, or financial interests relate to the article. An officer is a person that can make decisions on behalf of or take part in decision making in a relevant organization.

Authors must disclose if another party had the right to review the co-authored research prior to its circulation. Reviewing is an explicit right to comment and propose changes.

Failure to disclose relevant information before cooperation starts or when it becomes known may result in a discontinuation of the collaboration without a right to maintain authorship of the research.

Disclosure can be author and/or paper-specific because a specific relationship may be relevant for one paper without being so for another. In cases of uncertainty regarding whether to disclose a particular relationship, a guiding principle should be the answer to the question: “Could I, my own institution or Norges Bank be embarrassed if I had not disclosed this relationship and it was subsequently discovered by a journalist, colleague or university administrator?” If the answer to this question is “yes” or “maybe”, the relationship should be disclosed.

Footnotes

[1] In the following the term “Norges Bank” refers to Central Banking only, and not Norges Bank Investment Management.

[2] See Norges Bank research strategy: https://www.norges-bank.no/en/topics/Research/research-strategy/

[3] https://www.forskningsradet.no/en/apply-for-funding/who-can-apply-for-funding/research-organisations/approved-research-organisations/

[4] Staff memos and Bankplassen blog articles have different editorial and approval processes. See www.norges-bank.no.

[5] Ethical principles for employees of Norges Bank and Conduct Policy for employees in Norges Bank Central Banking