1/2000

Overcoming the Inflationary Bias Through Institutional Changes - Experiences of selected OECD central banks

Sebastian Schich
Franz Seitz

The paper analyses the institutional changes that have taken place during the 1990s at the central banks of major OECD countries. They have generally resulted in an increased degree of independence, transparency and accountability as well as in mandates more narrowly focused on the achieving and maintaining of price stability. It is argued that recent theoretical and empirical research on the institutional aspects of monetary policy are useful in interpreting these changes. The implications for the design of the European Central Bank are discussed against the background of this research and the experiences with the recent changes at national central banks

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