Central Banks Independence In Historical Perspective

Deals with the antonomy of monetary authorities: the case of the US. Federal Reserve System; relations between monetary authorities and government institutions: the case of Germany, France, and Italy.

A study of the power struggle between Germany's central bank and the West German government to control monetary policy in the post-war era.

This book discusses the role of central banks and draws lessons from examining their evolution over the past two centuries.

Covers the history of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), from its founding in Basel in 1930 to the end of the Bretton Woods system in 1973, with a focus on cooperation among the main central banks for the stability and efficiency of the international monetary system.

Curzio had one of the most fertile and original minds ever to be deployed on questions relating, first, to the interactions between Central Banks, private sector financial intermediaries and the government, and second to the working of the international monetary system in general, and to the role of the IMF specifically within that. His approach has been to apply a theory of history , which provides a beautifully written and illuminating book, much easier and nicer to read and more rounded than the limited mathematical models that have so monopolised academia in recent decades. From the foreword by Charles A.E. Goodhart Curzio Giannini s history of the evolution of central banks illustrates how the most relevant institutional developments have taken place at times of widespread confidence crises and in response to deflationary pressures. The eminent and highly-renowned author provides an analytical perspective to study the evolution of central banking as an endogenous response to crisis and to the ever increasing needs of economic growth. The key argument of the analysis is that crucial innovations in the payment technology (from the invention of coinage to the development of electronic money) could not have taken place without an institution i.e. the central bank - that could preserve confidence in the instruments used as money. According to Curzio Giannini s neo-institutionalist methodological approach, social institutions are, in fact, essential in the coordination of individual decisions as they minimize transaction costs, overcome information asymmetries and deal with incomplete contracts. This enlightening and revealing historical theory perspective on central banking will prove a thought-provoking read for academic and institutional economists, economic historians, and economic policymakers involved in the task of crafting a new institutional arrangement for central banking in the globalized economy.

Provides an in-depth overview of the Federal Reserve System, including information about monetary policy and the economy, the Federal Reserve in the international sphere, supervision and regulation, consumer and community affairs and services offered by Reserve Banks. Contains several appendixes, including a brief explanation of Federal Reserve regulations, a glossary of terms, and a list of additional publications.

Tucker presents guiding principles for ensuring that central bankers and other unelected policymakers remain stewards of the common good.