Two recent proposals for overcoming the euro area crisis make the case for monetary financing of the public sector. Watt proposes that the ECB finances public investment directly, while Pâris and Wyplosz contend that public debt may be effectively restructured by burying parts of it in the...

The extraordinary measures taken by the ECB to combat the financial crisis have led many observers to question whether the bank has put its independence at risk. The bank's vow to do 'whatever it takes' to save the euro has added a second (and potentially contradictory) goal alongside its...

Keynesian-inspired macro regulation gained importance in West German economic policy from the mid-1960s and was enshrined in law through the Stability and Growth Act in 1967. In the context of the legislative process, the question arose as to what extent the Deutsche Bundesbank should be given...

The main reason for central bank independence lies in the fact that it is necessary to clearly distinguish spending money from the ability of making money. Independence of central banks is now a characteristic of almost all developed and highly industrialized countries. In this respect, it...

After almost four decades of price stability, inflation has recently approached historical highs. Initially driven by global energy and food price increases, the magnitude of the surge in inflation caught central banks and markets by surprise. Price pressures are now increasingly broadening to...