POLITICAL-ECONOMY OF CENTRAL BANKS

Current developments in the field of comparative political economy hav e emphasised the role and influence of corporatist institutions in the determination of levels of economic and social performance. Without d enying the importance of corporatism, the paper argues for the need to acknowledge and examine the impact of other institutions, such as cen tral banks, on economic performance. Given the increasing role of mone tary policy in fashioning economic development, central banks have ass umed a key economic and political role in policy formation. Against th is background, the paper explores the theoretical and empirical implic ations of central bank independence, and suggests that a greater empha sis should be placed on the nature and type of central bank independen ce and on the institutional linkages between central banks and other s tate institutions.