Cover -- Half-title -- Series-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Figures -- Tables -- Preface -- 1 The Institutional Make-up and Evolution of Central Bank-Government Relations: An Introduction -- INTRODUCTION -- INFLATION THEN AND NOW -- GOVERNING STRUCTURES -- CONFLICTS AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION -- OBJECTIVES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN MONETARY POLICY: FROM EXPERIMENTATION AND AUTONOMY TO ACCOUNTABILITY AND DISCLOSURE -- THE CENTRAL BANK AND THE STATE -- THE DOMAIN OF CENTRAL BANKING -- SUMMARY -- 2 Legislation Alone Does Not a Central Bank Make: Political Structure, Governance, and Reputation in Monetary Policy -- INTRODUCTION -- POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND CENTRAL BANK AUTONOMY -- THE ROLE OF GOVERNANCE AND CONTRACTS FOR CENTRAL BANKERS -- The Role of Fiscal Policy -- A Brief Detour to the Antipodes -- COMMON FEATURES IN MONETARY AND FISCAL POLICIES AND INDICATORS OF CENTRAL BANK PERFORMANCE -- Inflation and Inflation Persistence -- Credibility of Policy Regimes -- Caveats -- Interest Rates -- Central Bank Independence -- Real Economic Performance -- CENTRAL BANKS AND CONFLICTS WITH GOVERNMENT -- CREDIBILITY AND REPUTATION OF MONETARY POLICY -- THE FISCAL AND MONETARY POLICY NEXUS: DO WE NEED A CENTRAL BANK AT ALL? -- SUMMARY -- 3 Central Bank Personalities and Monetary Policy Performance -- INTRODUCTION -- LEGACIES OF THE PAST -- FRIEDMAN'S HYPOTHESIS -- CEOs OF CENTRAL BANKS -- CASE STUDIES -- The Fed and the Tension between Personalities and Policies -- The Bank of Canada and the Directive -- The "Directive" in International Perspective -- The Bundesbank and the Preeminence of Policy -- Drawing Some Conclusions -- THE THREAT TO MONETARY POLICY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: FINANCIAL INSTABILITY -- Varieties of Shortsightedness in Monetary Policy -- SUMMARY.

4 Econometric Analysis of Central Bank Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach -- INTRODUCTION -- VARIETIES OF REACTION FUNCTIONS -- Characterizing the Reaction Function -- Identifying the Central Bank's Preferences -- Discretion in the Form of a Rule -- THE POLICY PARADOX -- NEW ESTIMATES OF CENTRAL BANK REACTION FUNCTIONS: SPECIFICATION AND ECONOMETRIC CONSIDERATIONS -- Motivation -- Specification of the Forecast Function -- Specification of the Reaction Function -- EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE -- Some Stylized Features of the Data -- Reaction Functions for Individual Countries -- Extensions to Basic Reaction Function Estimates -- Cross-Country Reaction Function Estimates -- SUMMARY -- 5 Contrasting Quantitative and Qualitative Assessments of Central Bank Behavior and the Evolution of Monetary Policies -- INTRODUCTION -- RECONCILING THE ECONOMETRIC AND QUALITATIVE EVIDENCE -- THE EMERGENCE OF COMMON FEATURES IN MONETARY POLICY: THE TRIUMPH OF POLICIES? -- A HALF CENTURY OF EXPERIMENTATION -- Exchange Rate Pressure -- Fiscal Pressure -- Political Pressure -- AN ASSESSMENT -- SUMMARY -- 6 Accountability, Disclosure, and Conflict Resolution -- INTRODUCTION -- HOW MUCH TO TALK? CENTRAL BANK SIGNALING AND CREDIBILITY -- THE MEANING OF ACCOUNTABILITY -- THE VALUE OF DISCLOSURE -- THE IMPORTANCE OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION PROCEDURES AND GOVERNANCE -- Governance and Central Bank Accountability -- MEASURING CENTRAL BANK ACCOUNTABILITY AND DISCLOSURE -- Indexes of Accountability and Disclosure -- Inflation Forecasts and Central Bank Communication Redux -- SUMMARY -- 7 Inflation Targets versus Other Inflation Control Measures: Two Sides of the Same Coin? -- INTRODUCTION -- THE END OF PERSONALITIES AND THE EMERGENCE OF A FRAMEWORK FOR MONETARY POLICY -- EXCHANGE RATE REGIMES, MONEY, INFLATION, AND TARGETING: WHICH ONE IS A COHERENT POLICY FRAMEWORK? -- Exchange Rate Regimes.

Money Growth Targets -- Inflation Targeting -- DISCLOSURE VERSUS FLEXIBILITY REDUX -- THE APPEAL OF "COMMUNICATION" AS AN INSTRUMENT OF MONETARY POLICY -- The Importance of Forecasts -- COMMUNICATING MONETARY POLICY -- PRACTICAL ISSUES WITH INFLATION TARGETS: THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF THE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK -- SUMMARY -- 8 The Changing Face of Central Banking: Epilogue -- INTRODUCTION -- DE JURE OR DE FACTO AUTONOMY: DOES IT MATTER? -- WHITHER CENTRAL BANK PERSONALITIES? -- QUALITATIVE VERSUS QUANTITATIVE FORMS OF ANALYSIS OF CENTRAL BANK PERFORMANCE -- TOWARD THE HOLY GRAIL IN MONETARY POLICY? -- Bibliography -- Index.