Speech Summary Central Bank independence In Retrospect

Guy Debelle
Deputy Governor

Address at Bank of England Independence: 20 Years On Conference
London – 28 September 2017

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On the anniversary of the Bank of England's 20 years of independence, this speech discusses the effectiveness of central bank independence. Revisiting the Deputy Governor's PhD dissertation on the topic (written under the tutelage of Stanley Fischer at MIT in 1994), the speech covers the foundations of independence and then looks at whether the experience over the following twenty years validates this framework. The speech covers policy responses to the financial crisis, threats to central bank independence and the importance of public accountability in a democratic society.

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