Central Banks at a Crossroads

What Can We Learn from History?

Michael D. Bordo, Øyvind Eitrheim, Marc Flandreau, Jan F. Qvigstad

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781107149663
• eBook ISBN:
  9781316655726
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Macroeconomics
• Index: Economics

Throughout their long history, the primary concern of central banks has oscillated between price stability in normal times and financial stability in extraordinary times. In the wake of the recent global financial crisis, central banks have been given additional responsibilities to ensure financial stability, which has sparked intense debate over the nature of their role. Bankers and policy makers face an enormous challenge finding the right balance of power between the central bank and the state. This volume is the result of an international conference held at Norges Bank (the central bank of Norway). International experts and policy makers present research and historical analysis on the evolution of the central bank. They specifically focus on four key aspects: its role as an institution, the part it plays within the international monetary system, how to delineate and limit its functions, and how to apply the lessons of the past two centuries.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title
• Series information
• Title page
• Copyright information
• Table of contents
• Editors and contributors
• Preface
• 1 Introduction
• 2 The Descent of Central Banks (1400-1815)
• 3 Central Bank Credibility: An Historical and Quantitative Exploration
• 4 The Coevolution of Money Markets and Monetary Policy, 1815-2008
• 5 Central Bank Independence in Small Open Economies
• 6 Fighting the Last War: Economists on the Lender of Last Resort
• 7 A Century and a Half of Central Banks, International Reserves, and International Currencies
• 8 Central Banks and the Stability of the International Monetary Regime
• 9 The International Monetary and Financial System: A Capital Account Historical Perspective
• 10 Central Banking: Perspectives from Emerging Economies
• 11 The Evolution of the Financial Stability Mandate: From Its Origins to the Present Day
• 12 Bubbles and Central Banks: Historical Perspectives
• 13 Central Banks and Payment Systems: The Evolving Trade-off between Cost and Risk
• 14 Central Bank Evolution: Lessons Learnt from the Sub-Prime Crisis
• 15 The Evolution of Central Banks: A Practitioner’s Perspective
• Index
• Series list