Evolution and Procedures in Central Banking

The articles in this volume are collectively about shedding light on central banks as institutions.

David E. Altig (Edited by), Bruce D. Smith (Edited by)

9780521814270, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 11 September 2003

332 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.66 kg

"...the volume provides a refreshing survey of current leading issues in central banking, and belongs to the shelves of anyone who believes in the outstanding relevance of monetary and banking history for current challenges, both theoretical and practical." EH.NET

This volume collects the proceedings from a conference on the evolution and practice of central banking sponsored by the Central Bank Institute of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. The articles and discussants' comments in this volume largely focus on two questions: the need for central banks, and how to maintain price stability once they are established. The questions addressed include whether large banks (or coalitions of small banks) can substitute for government regulation and due central bank liquidity provision; whether the future will have fewer central banks or more; the possibility of private means to deliver a uniform currency; if competition across sovereign currencies can ensure global price stability; the role of learning (and unlearning) the lessons of the past inflationary episodes in understanding central bank behavior; and an analysis of the European Central Bank.

List of contributors
Acknowledgements
In memoriam
Introduction
Part I. Operational Issues in Modern Central Banking: 1. Laboratory experiments with an exceptional Phillips curve Jasmina Arifovic and Thomas J. Sargent
Commentary James Bullard and Christopher A. Sims
2. Whither central banking? Charles Goodhart
Commentary Donald L. Kohn and Mark Gertler
Part II. Monetary Union: 3. Monetary policy in unknown territory: the European Central Bank in the early years Jürgen von Hagen and Matthias Brückner
Commentary Stephen G. Cecchetti and Vitor Gaspar
4. International currencies and dollarization Alberto Trejos
Commentary Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel and Ross Levine
Part III. Private Alternatives to Central Banks: 5. Banking panics and the origin of central banking Gary Gorton and Lixin Huang
Commentary John H. Boyd and Edward J. Green
6. Establishing a monetary union in the United States Arthur J. Rolnick, Bruce D. Smith and Warren E. Weber
Commentary Neil Wallace and Bruce Champ
7. Currency competition in the Digital Age Randall S. Kroszner
Commentary Jeremy C. Stein and Jeffrey M. Lacker
Index.

Subject Areas: Business strategy [KJC], Banking [KFFK], Finance [KFF], Political economy [KCP], Economics [KC]