A former Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System states his opinion on the Fed's constituency, its policy goals, its need for credibility and independence, and its obligation to be open, accountable, and candid in a democratic society. He argues that the Fed is, and...

Central banks, which used to be so secretive, are communicating more and more these days about their monetary policy. This development has proceeded hand in glove with a burgeoning new scholarly literature on the subject. The empirical evidence, reviewed selectively here, suggests that...