This Handbook provides a comprehensive analysis of the past, present, and future of the European Economic and Monetary Union in its broader context. It incorporates economic, legal and political science perspectives to provide an in-depth and forward-looking scrutiny of the rationales, the main...

The European Central Bank (ECB) ranks highly on the author's proposed central bank disclosure inidcator, measuring activities of central banks to enhance the public's understanding of their policies. Nevertheless, the survey evidence offered in this contribution suggests that private-sector...

The European Central Bank (ECB) ranks highly on our proposed central bank disclosure indicator, measuring activities of central banks to enhance the public's understanding of their policies. Nevertheless, our survey evidence suggests that private-sector economists do not consider the ECB...

Transparency of central banks - defined here as the degree of genuine understanding of the monetary policy process and policy decisions by the public - has become a major issue. The authors use the term disclosure whenever we refer to the activities of a central bank to enhance the public s...

Since its establishment in 1998, the European Central Bank (ECB) has come of age. During this period, its legal framework has been put to the test sufficiently to allow for a proper assessment of the working of this system in practice. This article focuses on the relationship between the ECB and...

This legal contribution reflects on the changing role of central banks in the global economy by observing three interconnected developments: globalization, regionalization and the global financial crisis. The hypothesis at the outset is that these developments which are to a considerable extent...

Together with institutional, functional and organizational independence, financial independence constitutes one of the cornerstones of central bank independence, the economic ratio of which has been demonstrated extensively in the literature. In broad terms financial independence may be defined...

Taking a normative approach this paper identifies and develops basic principles for the good governance of central banks, namely independence, democratic accountability and transparency. In doing so the paper focuses on the arrangements surrounding the primary task of a central bank, i.e. the...