Inflation and Central Bank Independence : A Meta Regression Analysis

Using 59 studies, we perform a meta regression analysis of studies examining the relationship between inflation and central bank independence (CBI). There is a negative and significant relation between inflation and CBI in OECD countries, although the results are sensitive to the indicator used and the estimation period chosen. Studies based on simple bivariate regressions suffer from an omitted variable bias, but our results suggest that only an interaction variable of labor market characteristics and CBI reduces the significance of the CBI indicator. We find no significant differences between studies based on a cross-country or panel settings. Interestingly, over time the reported impact of CBI on inflation in journal articles increases