Challenges in central banking: The current institutional environment and forces affecting monetary policy

摘要

Challenges in Central Banking is a bricolage of a book, covering a wide range of issues relating to monetary and financial policy. The volume's eleven chapters grew out of papers that were originally presented at a conference held in Budapest in 2007, a time of general consensus on best practices in central banking. Four propositions in particular had emerged from this consensus: first, that granting independence to central banks reduced inflation; second, that flexible inflation targeting delivered optimal macroeconomic performance; third, that central banks should be as transparent as possible in communicating their intentions to the public; and fourth, that delegating financial supervisory authority to an independent agency would allow the central bank to pursue its monetary policy objectives more effectively.