Feature
Would Spain be better off out of the euro?
Domingo Cavallo compares the economic performances of the UK and Spain during the crisis to see if being ‘out’ is better than being ‘in’
Conflicts of interest in central banking
The crisis has highlighted how interests can diverge in the monetary policy-making bodies of federal central banks, writes Daniel Gros
History in the making
Robert Aliber is inspired by Allan Meltzer’s monumental history of the Federal Reserve to look again at US monetary policy in the latter half of the 20th century
A two-pillar strategy for macroprudential policy
Dirk Schoenmaker and Peter Wierts propose a way to formulate financial stability policy to tackle cyclical and structural risks
Central banking in an era of QE
The reserve currency centres must urgently restore fiscal and monetary discipline. If not, then inflation and the flight into gold will continue, warns Andrew Sheng
Nigeria banking gets back on its feet
Deputy governor Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu explains how the Central Bank of Nigeria has restructured the country’s banking sector and regulatory architecture since the financial crisis
More data, not theory
The crisis has shown the dangers of placing models at the heart of policymaking. An empirical approach is the answer, says Kevin Gardiner
Opposing fronts
Martina Horáková reports on two conflicting views of US regulatory reforms
Will the new monetary policy consensus work for a small, open economy?
A new consensus is emerging for how monetary policy should be conducted. However, using the Czech experience as an example, Jan Frait, Zlatuše Komárková and Luboš Komárek argue that it may be difficult to apply in small, open economies
The case for symmetrical monetary policy and its role in the new financial architecture
Central banks should adopt a more symmetrical approach to monetary policy in supporting financial stability. Bernd Braasch discusses how such an approach can best be implemented amid the jumble of policy strands competing for officials’ attention
Avoiding group think and conflicts of interest: widening the circle of central bank advice
Central banks may better serve the public by calling on a broader group of economists for advice, Gerald Epstein and Jessica Carrick-Hagenbarth believe
Reform of the international monetary system: a modest proposal
Richard N. Cooper presents an idea to enhance the stability of the international monetary regime
Reforming financial regulation and the international monetary system
The regime we have is far from perfect. But regulatory oversight can go some way towards countering its flaws, Jacques de Larosière believes
The whys and hows of CoCo issuance
There is much support for contingent capital, or CoCos, among regulators and economists. However, officials, bankers and investors alike are unsure what should serve as the trigger to turn debt into equity. Here, Charles Calomiris and Richard Herring…
The three-trillion-dollar question
Keen to assert its monetary autonomy, the People’s Bank of China is locked in a tussle with the finance ministry to determine how the country’s excess reserves are managed
Ganbaro Nippon!
Robert Pringle reports from Tokyo on the Bank of Japan’s response to the Great East Japan Earthquake
A retail ring-fence for the UK
Robert Pringle and Hugh Sandeman analyse the Independent Commission on Banking’s interim report
William Clarke: 1922–2011
William Clarke CBE, a co-founder of Central Banking, has died at the age of 88. This appreciation was written by George Bull, another of the founding directors of Central Banking. Bull died in 2001
Were the ‘bloody bankers’ to blame?
J.R. Sargent assesses whether the public scorn poured on bankers is justified
Central bank capital levels: do they matter and what can be done?
The crisis has undoubtedly intensified the debate on negative capital. Martina Horáková investigates
The value of active management for central banks
Central bank portfolio managers should not avoid risk but rather have a disciplined approach to managing it, Elisa Vilorio believes
Questions that an audit committee should ask
Joanna Grochalska discusses how central banks can get the most out of their audit committees
The collateral squeeze of 2008
William Allen and Richhild Moessner analyse data from US commercial banks and Morgan Stanley in the months surrounding Lehman Brothers’ collapse
The inflation targeting debate: a case study in FOMC deliberation
Discussions among Federal Open Market Committee members in the mid1990s highlight two important lessons for central bankers, Marvin Goodfriend shows