2008
29/2008
Central bank institutional structure and effective central banking: cross-country empirical evidence
Author(s): Iftekhar Hasan – Loretta J Mester
2008. 38 pages.
Publisher: Bank of Finland
ISBN 978-952-462-478-7 (Printed publication)
ISBN 978-952-462-479-4 (Web publication)
Search words: central banking, institutional structure, accountability, transparency, performance, E52, E58, Iftekhar Hasan, Loretta J Mester
Over the last decade, the legal and institutional frameworks governing central banks and financial market regulatory authorities throughout the world have undergone significant changes. This has created new interest in better understanding the roles played by organizational structures, accountability and transparency in increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of central banks in achieving their objectives and ultimately yielding better economic outcomes. Although much has been written pointing out the potential role institutional form can play in central bank performance, little empirical work has been done to investigate the hypothesis that institutional form is related to performance. This paper attempts to help fill this void.