Contrary to popular belief, the history of central banking begins much earlier than 1800. Many current issues of central bank policy can be traced back to the public giro banks of the 15th century, and have been discussed in numerous essays at least since the 17th century. Are the same debates...

This paper outlines important lessons for monetary policy. In particular, the role of inflation targeting, which was much acclaimed prior to the financial crisis and since then has not lost much of its endorsement, is critically reviewed. Ignoring the relation between monetary policy and asset...

Although central banks have recently taken unconventional policy actions to try to shore up macroeconomic and financial stability, little theory is available to assess the consequences of such measures. This paper offers a theoretical model with which such policies can be analyzed. In...

Am 20. Januar 2021 veranstalteten das Institut für bankhistorische Forschung und das Center for Financial Studies eine vielbeachtete Video-Konferenz zum Thema „Die Rolle von Zentralbanken in Krisenzeiten - Lehren aus der Zeit vor 1800“. Anlass war das Erscheinen des Buches von Ulrich...