The status of the Central Bank

The article summarizes the main points discussed at the seminar on ,,The St atus of the Central Bank," held by the Czech Economic Society in October 19 99. The seminar was assembled as a panel discussion, with a panel composed of nine respected Czech monetary economists. The seminar considered the fol lowing questions: Should the central bank be an independent institution? Sh ould it have a well-defined policy target(s)? How would these targets be fo rmulated? Who would formulate them? How should candidates for the governing board be chosen and who should take part in the selection process? How sho uld the responsibilities of the board members be defined As regards the cur rent institutional setting of the Czech National Bank, a majority of the pa nel members recommended the separation of the monetary policy from banking supervision and from the management of the central bank itself; greater tra nsparency in the selection of board members and in monetary policy; and tha t monetary policy targets be subject to the joint authority of the central bank and the government.