Seminar Papers,
Stockholm University, Institute for International Economic Studies

Abstract: We examine a central bank's endogenous choice of degree of control and degree of transparency, under both commitment and discretion. Under commitment, we find that the deliberate choice of sloppy control is far less likely under a standard central-bank loss function than reported for a less standard loss function by Cuikerman and Meltzer. Under discretion, maximum degree of control is the only equilibrium. With regard to the degree of transparency, under commitment, a sufficiently patient bank with sufficiently low average inflaiton bias will always choose minimum transparency. Under discretion, both minimum and maximum transparency are equilibria. We argue that discretion is the more realistic assumption for the choice of control and that commitment is more realistic for the choice of transparency. A maximum feasible degree of control with a minimum degree of transparency is then a likely outcome. The Bundesbank and the Federal Reserve System are, arguably, examples of this outcome.

Keywords: Monetary policy; Central banks

JEL-codes: E52; E58

31 pages, April 1, 1999

Full text files

FULLTEXT01  

Download statistics

• Stockholm University, Institute for International Economic Studies
• Ordering Working Papers
• Home page for this series

Questions (including download problems) about the papers in this series should be directed to Hanna Christiansson ()
Report other problems with accessing this service to Sune Karlsson ().

RePEc:hhs:iiessp:0669This page generated on 2024-09-13 22:15:25.