But by incentivising central banks to commit to keep rates low for long, forward guidance becomes a constraint when they need to swiftly tighten policy to rein in inflation, he said.
"Recent experience suggests forward guidance can become a trap," Orphanides said.
"Compared to forward guidance, clearer communication of a central bank's reaction function would avoid the trap and improve policy outcomes," he added.
BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda, who was present at the conference, said the very nature of forward guidance meant central banks took the risk of falling behind the curve whenever they were using the tool.
Central banks around the world followed in the footsteps of the BOJ in introducing unconventional monetary easing steps, including forward guidance, to combat the 2007-2008 global financial crisis.
Persons:
Athanasios Orphanides, Orphanides, it's, Kazuo Ueda, Leika Kihara, Jacqueline Wong
Organizations:
Bank of Japan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Thomson
Locations:
TOKYO, Central, United States, Europe