Aspects of Central Bank Policy Making, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1991

This volume is a collection of papers which were presented and discussed at a conference on "Aspects of Central Bank Policy Making" which took place in January 1990 at the Bank of Israel and Tel Aviv University. The conference marked the tenth anniversary of the passing of David Horowitz who was the first governor of the Bank of Israel. The conference was sponsored by the Bank of Israel and the David Horowitz Institute for the Research of Developing Countries at Tel Aviv University. Eitan Berglas, Zvi Eckstein and Mordechai Fraenkel served as organizing committee. The volume has three parts. The first part deals with the rules and the constraints that are fundamental for central bank policy making. It starts with a critical review of 75 years of monetary policy of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, followed by several studies directed at the issues concerning the establishment of a European central bank. The second part deals with the insurance, regulation and safety of commercial banks. The last part contains analysis of monetary policies in Germany and Israel. Part of the research included in this volume is the result of a two years research project on "Central Bank Policies, Disinflation and the Macroeconomy" conducted at the David Horowitz Institute. The contributors to this project were: the Bundesbank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Italy, the Bank of Israel, the Bank for International Settlements and the Bank of the Netherlands.

I. Rules and Constraints on Monetary Policy.- 1. The Federal Reserve at Seventy Five.- 2. Towards a European Central Bank: Fiscal Compatibility and Monetary Constitution.- 3. Can Restrictions on Banking Replace Fiscal Adjustment? Seigniorage, Reserve Requirements, and Mandatory Investment.- 4. Credibility and Consistent Central Bank Policy: An Insider View.- 5. Discretion, Precommitments and the Prospects for a European Central Bank — Fixed Parities versus a Commonly Managed Currency.- 6. Exchange Rate Systems: New Perspectives.- II. Insurance and Regulation of Commercial Banks.- 7. Competitive Banking with Fractional Reserves and Regulations.- 8. A Case for Reforming Federal Deposit Insurance.- III. Review of Monetary Policy in Germany and Israel.- 9. Monetary Control and Exchange Market Management: German Policy Experience from the 1985 Plaza Agreement to the 1989 Summit of the Arch.- 10. The Balance-of-Payments Offset to Monetary Policy: An Examination of the Israeli Case.- 11. Israel’s Post-Stabilization Recession: Monetary Factors.- 12. Tax Smoothing and Tests of Ricardian Equivalence: Israel 1961-1988.