Introduction

Abstract

This book is concerned with the new paradigm of central banking. In a democratic society, transparency and accountability are not optional, but are required of independent central banks. The independence of modern central banks does not infer that central banks exist independently of structures in society or of the interactions between various agents in the financial markets (Cukierman 2008; de Haan, Masciandaro, and Quintyn 2008). A feature of the new paradigm is the interactive dimension of central banking and the financial markets. ‘Monetary policy works through the market, so perceptions of likely market reactions must be relevant to policy formation and actual market reactions must be relevant to the time and magnitude of monetary policy effects. There is no escaping this’ (Blinder 1998, 60).

The central bank owes the public transparency and accountability. Communication is at the heart of both.

Blinder and Goodhart et al. 2001, 2