ISBN : 9780198806196
Central banks came out of the Great Recession with increased power and responsibilities. Indeed, central banks are often now seen as 'the only game in town', and a place to put innumerable problems vastly exceeding their traditional remit. These new powers do not fit well, however, with the independence of central banks, remote from the democratic control of government. Central Banking in Turbulent Times examines fundamental questions about the central banking system, asking whether the model of an independent central bank devoted to price stability is the final resting point of a complex development that started centuries ago. It dissects the hypothesis that the Great Recession has prompted a reassessment of that model; a renewed emphasis on financial stability has emerged, possibly vying for first rank in the hierarchy of objectives of central banks. This raises the risk of dilemmas, since the Great Recession brought into question implicit assumptions that the pursuit of price
Introduction; 1. Central banking before the Great Recession; 1.1 Changing nature and objectives of central banks; 1.2 Dominant central bank model before the crisis; 1.3 The unsettled issue of financial stability; 1.4 Planting the seeds of the Great Recession: macroeconomic, regulatory, supervisory, and intellectual aspects; 2. Central banking during the Great Recession; 2.1 Monetary Policy; 2.2 Financial Stability; 3. Central banking after the Great Recession; 3.1 Hits to the pre-crisis central bank model; 3.2 Was the pre Great Recession central banking model jeopardized?; 3.3 Strategic and operational issues; 3.4 Central banks in a new regulatory and supervisory landscape; 3.5 How wide will the scope of responsibilities of central banks be?; 3.6 Possible adaptations to the central banks model