"Government bailouts. Negative interest rates and markets that do not behave as economic models tell us they should. New populist and nationalist movements that target central banks and central bankers as a source of popular malaise. New regional organizations and geopolitical alignments laying...

The worldwide financial crisis revealed that some of the basic consensuses concerning the macroeconomic policy framework and the roles of the central banks were no longer tenable. This prompted rethinking of central bank objectives, strategies and policy instruments, with particular focus on the...

Problems & contradictions of central banking -- Evolution of central banking: functions, targets & tools -- Central bank independence: but from whom? -- Hamilton's curse: the 1st bank of the United States -- The 2nd US bank & the depression of 1837-43 -- National banking goes bust: three crashes...

The establishment of independent authorities for monetary policy and for competition policy was part of the institutional consensus of the Great Moderation. The paper contrasts how policy has operated in the two spheres, especially as regards the role of law. It then discusses the application of...