PRESS RELEASE
The Museum of the Bank of Albania organizes “The Nights of Museum,” a cycle of lectures, October 2024

The Museum of the Bank of Albania organizes “The Nights of Museum,” a cycle of open lectures held annually, with the participation of many prominent figures from various fields, such as the history of money and banking, economics, finance and finance literacy, numismatic; as well as other disciplines such as philately, art and architecture. Through these activities held outside the official working hours of the Museum, the Bank of Albania aims to create an environment for the public to become acquainted with its exhibitions and to engage in the exchange of ideas and fruitful discussions on the presented topics. 

The lecture with the topic:  “Inflation and its impact on the cost of living” was presented by the well-known economics expert, Prof.  Selami Xhepa. The purpose of this lecture was to enhance the awareness on the meaning of inflation, its impact on the purchasing power and the well-being of families, as well as to understand the factors causing it.

Prof. Xhepa explained in plain terms the concept of inflation and the two main types of inflation: monetary and non-monetary inflation. He discussed how they arise and their respective impacts on the economy and the daily life of citizens.

The Professor focused at length on the impact that factors such as monetary policy, the increase of money supply and changes to the policy rate have on aggregate demand and, consequently, on inflation and public’s expectations on inflation. He illustrated his discussion and explanations with a variety of examples based on historical experiences, including the role of gold prices and strong currencies as protection against surging inflation.

Lastly, Prof. Xhepa discussed the effective methods to control inflation and the challenges faced by the central bank in this process, in an open and globally-interconnected economy. 

Besides satiating the curiosity and providing a simple and intuitive explanation on the inflation phenomenon, this lecture also brought more awareness to the public at large and especially the youth regarding the importance of adopting carefully thought-out monetary policies which are necessary to preserve the economic stability and protect the well-being of the citizens.

Those who are interested on this lecture but were unable to attend it in person might watch it online at the YouTube profile of the Bank of Albania: https://www.youtube.com/@BankaShqiperise.