PRIESTS of PROSPERITY -- Contents -- Preface -- Notes on Nomenclature -- 1. E Pluribus Unum -- 2. Transplantation -- 3. Choosing Independence -- 4. The Transformation Campaign -- 5. The Politics of European Integration -- 6. The Trials of Post-Soviet Central Bankers -- 7. Paradise Lost --...

Priests of Prosperity explores the unsung revolutionary campaign to transform postcommunist central banks from command-economy cash cows into Western-style monetary guardians. Juliet Johnson conducted more than 160 interviews in seventeen countries with central bankers, international assistance...

The polemic about the proper role of monetary policies and the appropriate functions of central banks has received renewed stimulus from a number of very current events. In Europe, the creation of a supranational central bank has been realized. In the United States and other industrial as well...

Since 1992, the central banks of the Baltic states and the Commonwealth of Independent States have undertaken comprehensive reform of their monetary and exchange arrangements in support of their stabilization efforts. Their efforts have been supported by extensive technical assistance provided...