March 2024: Recent trends in central bank independence

by Davide Romelli

Central bank independence is widely considered the backbone of modern economic policy analysis. This column examines the evolution of central bank independence for a sample of 155 countries from 1923 to 2023, and reveals a remarkable global shift towards enhancing the independence of monetary authorities. Despite the post-2008 challenges and the recent resurgence of political scrutiny of central banks following the COVID-19 pandemic, no halt to the momentum of reforms is observable, suggest that de jure central bank independence is still seen as a cornerstone for effective economic policymaking.

Links:
VoxEU Column – Recent trends in central bank independence