We calculate indexes of central bank autonomy (CBA) for 163 central banks as of end-2003, and comparable indexes for a subgroup of 68 central banks as of the end of the 1980s. The results confirm strong improvements in both economic and political CBA over the past couple of decades, although...

This paper analyses theoretically and empirically the architecture of supervisory powers, including the role of the central bank and the degree of integration of banking supervision with the supervision of securities and insurance companies. We focus on results on Basel Core Principles...

This paper examines the relationship between the quality of banking supervision and governance of the supervisory agency, based on assessments of the Basel Core Principles and the IMF Code on Transparency in Financial Policies, covering 116 and 53 countries, respectively, with 51 common to both....

In many countries, authorities have designated a group of financial firms as the principal intermediaries in the government securities market-referred to as primary dealers or a primary dealer system. This paper discusses policy issues related to the establishment of a primary dealer system for...

This paper presents an assessment of the external debt literature related to the IMF-World Bank HIPC Initiative and proposes to extend the present debt sustainability framework. We argue that a comprehensive debt sustainability analysis requires a fully-fledged government budget constraint,...