The financial health of central banks and its relation to policy outcomes has recently been recognized as an important policy issue. While case study evidence clearly indicates that weak central bank finances can hamper effective policy implementation, the question of whether central bank...

This paper constructs a new index for measuring de jure central bank independence, the first entirely new index in three decades. The index draws on a comprehensive dataset from the IMF's Central Bank Legislation Database (CBLD) and Monetary Operations and Instruments Database (MOID) and...

The expansion of bilateral swap arrangements (BSAs) since the Global Financial Crisis has led to a substantial reconfiguration of the Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN). This paper examines the drivers of BSA supply using a novel dataset on all publicly documented BSAs. It finds that countries...

We develop a stylized balance sheet framework to help identify 'quasi-fiscal' components of central bank crisis interventions and show how sources of fiscal risk are created from both the new claims and how they are funded. Combining central bank balance sheet data with survey evidence from...

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) promise many benefits but, if not well designed, they could have undesired consequences, including for monetary policy. Issuing an unremunerated CBDC or a wholesale CBDC does not change the objectives of monetary policy or the operational framework for...

The paper reviews the policy response of major central banks during the 2007-08 financial market turbulence and suggests that there is scope for convergence among central bank operational frameworks through the adoption of those elements that proved most instrumental in calming markets. These...