"A short history of transparency and central banks in the academic literature"

Eric Dehay (1) , Nathalie Levy

1 RIME-Lab - Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Management et Économie Lab - ULR 7396

Central banks underwent a "transparency revolution" during the 90s. Rather than considering it have been guided by a cost-benefit analysis, we assume that it is also a response imposed by a changing environment. The purpose of this text is to highlight the events or major trends that have brought about this revolution. A systematic review of the academic literature makes it possible to identify the concomitant themes that led to the questioning of the secret practices around central banks. It appears that the adoption of inflation targeting in the conduct of monetary policy and the creation of the euro, followed by the financial crisis and a growing general demand for greater transparency in the economic and political spheres, were the decisive events of the revolution.

Keywords: Transparency; Central banks

Domains: Economics and Finance; Humanities and Social Sciences

Eric Dehay, Nathalie Levy. "A short history of transparency and central banks in the academic literature". “History of Transparency in Politics and Society”, Jens Ivo Engels & Frédéric Monier (eds). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen, pp.173-184, 2020, 978-3-8470-1155-2. ⟨hal-03223916⟩