Policymaking in the European Central Bank: The Masters of Europe's MoneyRowman & Littlefield, 2006 - 195 pages Drawing on numerous interviews with high-ranking and founding members of the European Central Bank (ECB), Karl Kaltenthaler identifies and explains the factors that shape the bank's domestic and international monetary strategies. As at all institutions, politics are very much involved in policy-making at the ECB. Kaltenthaler finds that instead of being unconcerned with how the bank's policies impact the citizens of the Eurozone, the central bankers desire to keep the economy healthy. This desire is driven by the central bankers' two primary personal preferences: to appear competent to as much of society as possible and to maintain broad political support for their operational independence. The policy-making model that offers the best roadmap to a healthy economy is that of the German Bundesbank. To secure the long-term needs of the economy, the decisionmakers in the ECB have created a model that attempts to replicate the Bundesbank's success at the European level and to lend credibility to their own policies. Offering unprecedented access to the internal decisionmaking at the ECB, Policymaking in the European Central Bank will interest readers who want to understand this important European institution. |
Contents
The Origins of the European Central Bank | 9 |
The Formation of the European Central Banks Monetary Policy Strategy | 33 |
The Structure and Strategy of the European Central Bank | 59 |
The European Central Banks Operating Environment | 89 |
The Exchange Rate Challenge | 121 |
European Monetary Union Enlargement and the European Central Bank | 145 |
Conclusion | 163 |
References | 175 |
187 | |
193 | |
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Common terms and phrases
argued bank's bankers central bank governor chief economist Committee consensus created decision-makers deficits Delors depreciation Deutsche Bundesbank deutsche mark developed dollar domestic price stability Duisenberg Dyson ECB operates ECB's monetary policy EMU member ERM II ESCB euro's Eurogroup Europe European Central Bank European Commission European Monetary European Union Eurozone Eurozone economy exchange rate policy Executive Board member external monetary policy external value finance ministers financial community financial markets financial sector French government German central bank German government goal Growth Pact image of competence important independent central bank inflation institutions interest rates issue join EMU Maastricht Treaty mandate member countries monetarist monetary affairs monetary policy decisions monetary policy strategy monetary union money supply money supply growth national central bank NCB governors percent policy preferences political politicians position potential pressure price stability price-stability Stability and Growth transition economies Trichet voting