If the criteria for an institution's success are diffusion and longevity, then central banking has been hugely successful. But if the criterion is the degree to which it has achieved its goals, then the evaluation has to be more nuanced. Historically, those goals have included a changing mix of...

This essay argues that the Achilles heel of the international monetary and financial system is that it amplifies the "excess financial elasticity" of domestic policy regimes, ie it exacerbates their inability to prevent the build-up of financial imbalances, or outsize financial cycles, that lead...

This paper was presented at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Symposium on Monetary Policy and Uncertainty: Adapting to a Changing Economy at Jackson Hole, Wyoming on 28-30 August 2003. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the BIS

The recent financial crisis has triggered a major rethink of analytical approaches and policy toward financial stability. The crisis has encouraged a sharper focus on systemic risk, the inclusion of a financial sector in macroeconomic models, a shift from a microprudential to a macroprudential...

A proper understanding of central bank operations in response to the recent financial turmoil and of their implications for the monetary policy stance and for market functioning calls for an understanding of operating frameworks. And yet, not only are these the least familiar aspect of monetary...

What are liquidity crises? And what can be done to address them? This short paper brings together some personal reflections on this issue, largely based on previous work. In the process, it questions a number of commonly held beliefs that have become part of the conventional wisdom. The paper is...

What are liquidity crises? And what can be done to address them? This short article brings together some personal reflections on this issue, largely based on previous work. In the process, it questions a number of commonly held beliefs that have become part of the conventional wisdom. The...