This essay looks at the foundation and development of the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, through the perspective of the recent debate over central bank independence in the design of optimal monetary policy. It shows that the creators of the Federal Reserve were acutely aware that...

In the last fifteen years or so the conduct of monetary policy in developed economies has converged in a number of ways which include an increasing emphasis on ‘openness’ and ‘transparency’ in policy-making. There is a widespread belief that transparency in the conduct of UK monetary...