历史上的金融危机与央行独立性——一个presentation.pdfVIP

Central Bank Independence and Financial Crises in History Michael D. Bordo Rutgers University and NBER Prepared for the Austrian National Bank 3 th Economic Conference “ Central Banking after the Crisis: Responsibilities, Strategies, Instruments” Vienna, May 31 2010 1 Central Bank Independence and Financial Crises in History Central bank independence is important because a central bank needs to be insulated from short-run political pressure in order to pursue its core mission of providing price stability. This involves the ability to tighten monetary policy at the expense of temporarily reduced real activity and increased unemployment without political interference. It is also crucial that the central bank not be forced to fund fiscal deficits in peacetime—that it be independent of fiscal policy. 2 Central Bank Independence and Financial Crises in History (cont.) A central bank has the important role of serving as a lender of last resort and independence from government influence can help it in this pursuit. The crisis of 2007-2008 has created considerable challenges for central bank independence. The Fed ( and other central banks) have engaged in fiscal operations including credit policy, bailouts of non bank financial institutions and quantitative easing. These actions have seriously threatened central bank independence and its crucial corollary credibility for low inflation. 3 Central Bank Independence and Financial Crises in History (cont.) Are these developments novel? What does history tell us