Feature
Rising from the ashes: the Central Bank of Iraq
Robert Pringle and Nick Carver trace the remarkable story of the resurrection of the war-torn country’s central bank.
Improving financial reporting
Can central banks apply international standards for financial reporting? Jeremy Foster investigates.
Why am I here?
Central Banking surveys central banks’ aims and the language they use to justify their existence.
Good governance for central banks
Henry Schiffman spells out how central banks can improve the way they are run.
Ronald Reagan: champion of monetarism
President Reagan should get more credit for ending the Great Inflation, argues John Tatom.
News Analysis: Euro cash in demand
Nick Carver reports on the sharp rise in euro banknotes in circulation.
News Analysis: Retired Bank grandees face grilling in BCCI trial
Neil Courtis reports on the Bank of England’s plans for its defence.
Gentlemen prefer bonds
Nick Carver looks at one way Asian central banks could boost local debt markets.
Asia’s currency in the making?
In the first of two articles on initiatives to develop financial markets in East Asia, Anthony Rowley explains why talk of a regional currency has started to get serious.
Monetary policy to support growth
With inflation driven out of the system, Mongolia’s monetary-policy makers can look to bolster economic growth.
Highlights of transition
This article recalls Mongolia’s achievements since 1990, and sets out what the country must strive for in the future.
Convergence report
Wayward deficits in the larger economies have forced a retreat from earlier dates for joining the euro. Analysis of central bank strategies, speeches and statistics suggest that Slovenia, Cyprus and the Baltic states will vie to be the first in.
Substance and semantics in ERM II
In the February issue, Peter Kenen and Ellen Meade discussed the Maastricht treaty's convergence criteria and their application to the accession countries. Here, they look more closely at the key role of the exchange rate criterion.
A toolkit for financial stability
Monetary union does not insulate against financial crisis, says Max Watson. Accession countries must continue to watch - and - report - imbalances in the economy.
Seven rules of foreign exchange
Economic fundamentals hold in the long run, but what drives currency markets in the short run? In this personal view, Avinash Persaud finds clues in watching what central banks say, and what they do.
A Bretton Woods that never was
Richard Roberts recalls the last official effort to create a coherent design for an international monetary system.
The central bank's "no" to Annan
Robert Pringle reports on why the Central Bank of Cyprus came out against the UN plan for monetary union in Cyprus.
New light on the Fed's history
Allan Meltzer finds the Fed at fault for the Great Depression, but he may not have the complete picture contends Tim Congdon.
Why has Brown ditched his prudence?
Howard Flight analyses the transformation of Gordon Brown's Treasury from fiscal forbearance to public sector profligacy.
Iraq's botched currency reform
Prescriptions by the official sector institutions for Iraq ignore political realities and their own findings argue Steve Hanke and Matt Sekerke.
The SDR: an international reserve liability
The SDR is central to the work of the International Monetary Fund, but it remains a deeply ambiguous unit.
Challenges for central banks in the new member states
Max Watson assesses the task facing accession countries in safeguarding financial stability. He starts by recognising the big strides already taken, and then considers the risks that lie ahead.
Making markets work - the central banker's role
For financial markets in transition countries to develop effectively, a broad policy overview is needed. Central bankers have an important role to play in this, argues John Chown, and so they should not confine themselves only to their core functions.