Accountability of Central Banks: Aspects and Quantifications

CentER Discussion Paper Series No. 9854

27 Pages Posted: 21 Feb 2009

See all articles by Jakob de Haan

Jakob de Haan

University of Groningen - Faculty of Economics and Business; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute); De Nederlandsche Bank

Fabian Amtenbrink

Erasmus University Rotterdam - Erasmus School of Law

Sylvester C. W. Eijffinger

Tilburg University (CentER) - Department of Economics; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Date Written: May 1, 1998

Abstract

This paper starts with a discussion of the various aspects of accountability of central banks. On the basis of this discussion we construct an indicator for accountability for 16 central banks, including the European Central Bank. It is shown that the degree of accountability differs considerably and that the ECB has a rather low score. The indicator is used to examine the relationship between central bank independence and accountability. It is concluded that although there appears to be a negative relationship between independence and accountability, this certainly does not imply that a central bank cannot be both independent and accountable.

Keywords: Central banks, democratic accountability, independence, indicators, comparison, European Central Bank

JEL Classification: K10, K29, L51, E52, E58

Suggested Citation

de Haan, Jakob and Amtenbrink, Fabian and Eijffinger, Sylvester C. W., Accountability of Central Banks: Aspects and Quantifications (May 1, 1998). CentER Discussion Paper Series No. 9854 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1307581 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1307581

Jakob De Haan

University of Groningen - Faculty of Economics and Business ( email )

PO Box 800
Groningen, 9700 AV
Netherlands
+31 0 50 3633706 (Fax)

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.CESifo.de

De Nederlandsche Bank ( email )

P.O. Box 98
Amsterdam, 1000 AB
Netherlands

Fabian Amtenbrink (Contact Author)

Erasmus University Rotterdam - Erasmus School of Law ( email )

3000 DR Rotterdam
Netherlands
+31104081573 (Phone)

Sylvester C. W. Eijffinger

Tilburg University (CentER) - Department of Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands
+31 13 466 2411 (Phone)
+31 13 466 3042 (Fax)

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.CESifo.de

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

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