This book, edited by J.B. Zulu, Ian S. McCarthy, Susana Almuiña, and Gabriel Sensenbrenner, presents the proceedings of the special Joint Meetings on Central Banking Technical Assistance held in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1994, and provides detailed information on important issues in central banking, including a comparative sample of 31 countries. The arrangements concerning such issues as the size and composition of the policymaking board, the role of the central bank in monetary and exchange rate policy, resolution of conflict between the central bank and the government, public accountability, relations with the markets, and credit to the government are reviewed.

Tucker presents guiding principles for ensuring that central bankers and other unelected policymakers remain stewards of the common good.

Since 1992, the central banks of the Baltic states and the Commonwealth of Independent States have undertaken comprehensive reform of their monetary and exchange arrangements in support of their stabilization efforts. Their efforts have been supported by extensive technical assistance provided by the IMF and 23 central banks. This book edited by V. Sundararajan, Arne B. Peterson, and Gabriel Sensenbrenner, contains the background papers prepared for the second joint coordinating meeting of participants. That meeting focused on the progress of structural reforms in central banking and bank restructuring and identified priorities for the deepening of reforms. The book documents the remarkable progress achieved by the Baltic and CIS central banks and the catalytic role they have played in financial market development.

Over the past two decades, many low- and lower-middle income countries (LLMICs) have improved control over fiscal policy, liberalized and deepened financial markets, and stabilized inflation at moderate levels. Monetary policy frameworks that have helped achieve these ends are being challenged by continued financial development and increased exposure to global capital markets. Many policymakers aspire to move beyond the basics of stability to implement monetary policy frameworks that better anchor inflation and promote macroeconomic stability and growth. Many of these LLMICs are thus considering and implementing improvements to their monetary policy frameworks. The recent successes of some LLMICs and the experiences of emerging and advanced economies, both early in their policy modernization process and following the global financial crisis, are valuable in identifying desirable features of such frameworks. This paper draws on those lessons to provide guidance on key elements of effective monetary policy frameworks for LLMICs.

In the 1990s, the issues of central banking and central bank independence have gained increasing attention, in part owing to the role of the future European central bank, but also owing to the emergence of transition countries and the role of central banks in these countries. The main focus of the paper is on the preconditions of disinflation and successful stability policy in transition countries, paying special attention to the institutional requirements and to the choice of nominal anchors.

With single-digit inflation and substantial financial deepening, developing countries are adopting more flexible and forward-looking monetary policy frameworks and ascribing a greater role to policy interest rates and inflation objectives. While some countries have adopted formal inflation targeting regimes, others have developed frameworks with greater target flexibility to accommodate changing money demand, use of policy rates to signal the monetary policy stance, and implicit inflation targets.