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The past, present, and future of central banking

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  • David Cobham

Abstract

The financial crisis, on the one hand, and the recourse to ‘unconventional’ monetary policy, on the other, have given a sharp jolt to perceptions of the role and status of central banks. In this paper we start with a brief ‘contrarian’ history of central banks since the Second World War, which presents the Great Moderation and the restricted focus on inflation targeting as a temporary aberration from the norm. We then discuss how recent developments in fiscal and monetary policy have affected the role and status of central banks, notably their relationships with governments, before considering the environment central banks will face in the near and middle future and how they will have to change to address it. Copyright 2012, Oxford University Press.

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  • David Cobham, 2012. "The past, present, and future of central banking," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 28(4), pages 729-749, WINTER.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:oxford:v:28:y:2012:i:4:p:729-749
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    2. Claudio Borio & Anna Zabai, 2018. "Unconventional monetary policies: a re-appraisal," Chapters, in: Peter Conti-Brown & Rosa M. Lastra (ed.), Research Handbook on Central Banking, chapter 20, pages 398-444, Edward Elgar Publishing.
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    Cited by:

    1. Josh Ryan-Collins, 2015. "Is Monetary Financing Inflationary? A Case Study of the Canadian Economy, 1935-75," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_848, Levy Economics Institute.
    2. Christopher Bowdler & Amar Radia, 2012. "Unconventional monetary policy: the assessment," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 28(4), pages 603-621, WINTER.
    3. Josh Ryan-Collins & Frank van Lerven, 2018. "Bringing the helicopter to ground: a historical review of fiscal-monetary coordination to support economic growth in the 20th century," Working Papers PKWP1810, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    4. António Afonso & Francisco Gomes Pereira, 2025. "Unconventional monetary policy in the Euro area: Impacts on loans, employment, and investment," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(1), pages 190-220, January.
    5. Sheila Dow, 2014. "The Relationship Between Central Banks And Governments: What Are Central Banks For?," Department Discussion Papers 1401, Department of Economics, University of Victoria.
    6. Cobham, David, 2015. "Multiple Objectives in Monetary Policy: A de Facto Analysis for ‘Advanced’ Countries," 2007 Annual Meeting, July 29-August 1, 2007, Portland, Oregon TN 2015-63, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    7. Ad Van Riet, 2017. "A New Era For Monetary Policy: Challenges For The European Central Bank," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 62(01), pages 57-86, March.
    8. David Cobham, 2015. "Multiple Objectives in Monetary Policy: A De Facto Analysis for ‘Advanced’ Countries," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 83, pages 83-106, September.
    9. Inaba, Kei-Ichiro, 2020. "Japan’s impactful augmentation of quantitative easing sovereign-bond purchases," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    10. Michal Jurek & Pawel Marszalek, 2015. "Policy alternatives for the relationship between ECB monetary and financial policies and new member states," Working papers wpaper112, Financialisation, Economy, Society & Sustainable Development (FESSUD) Project.
    11. Sheila Dow & Guðrún Johnsen & Alberto Montagnoli, 2015. "A critique of full reserve banking," Working Papers 2015008, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.

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