For a start, there are not enough of them, say Professor Hanke and Michael Morgenstern of John Hopkins University. They name the laggards who do not have websites at all - not all of them by any means among the poorest or least developed. The authors also chide many of thoses that do have websites for failing elementary tests of transparency in the presentation of the information given.

Central banks have a long history of deliberately hiding, suppressing and falsifying information. Indeed, even