Central Bankers and Central Bank Independence
Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 50, No. 1, February 2003
8 Pages Posted: 3 Mar 2014
Date Written: February 1, 2003
Abstract
This paper uses results of a questionnaire survey to look at how central bankers in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia view various criteria of central bank independence and compares their responses with central bankers in industrial countries. Central bankers from both groups agree very strongly on the importance of two pillars of central bank independence: goal independence and freedom to implement these goals, together with a system of how credit is granted by a central bank to a government that gives the central bank powers to determine terms and limits the extent of such credit. Based on the responses, the paper also identifies some weaknesses of the most frequently used indices of central bank independence and makes recommendations on how to improve them.
Keywords: central bankers, central bank, independence
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation