Monnet analyzes monetary and central bank policy during the mid-twentieth century through close examination of the Banque de France.

This paper reviews key areas of central banking reform in a sample of centrally planned economies undergoing transition to market-based systems. The discussion draws mainly on the experiences of four countries, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and China. Significant efforts have been made, or are under consideration, in all countries to develop a more efficient framework for monetary management, and to provide greater autonomy to central banks in macro stabilization policies. These objectives call for a coordinated approach to strengthening a wide range of central banking functions simultaneously, and require that a core mass of supporting financial sector reforms be implemented to ensure effective transformation and stabilization with minimal transitional costs.

Central banks are among the most powerful government economic institutions in the world. This volume explores the economic and political contours of the struggle for influence over the policies of central banks such as the Federal Reserve, and the implications of this struggle for economic performance and the distribution of wealth and power in society.

Central Banks should enjoy a fair degree of autonomy in pursuing price stability to promote long-run growth and prosperity. This volume, edited by Patrick Downes and Reza Vaez-Zadeh, contains the papers presented at the fifth IMF seminar on central banking issues in November 1990. The theme was the interdependence of central bank functions and the role of central bank autonomy.