The Encyclopedia of Central Banking

‘Rochon and Rossi have made an important contribution to the field of central banking that will be invaluable to both students and faculty alike. The editors were meticulous and diligent in gathering some of the best thinkers on the topic.‘
– Basil J. Moore, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa

‘This new Encyclopedia is a most welcome addition, since the tools and the problems of central banking have changed so much with the advent of the global financial crisis. The editors have done a wonderful job in gathering a mix of well-known economists and bright young scholars and practitioners who analyze all the changes that have occurred. The entries provide a pluralistic view of the knowledge that is needed to be an enlightened central banker or a student of central banking.‘
– Marc Lavoie, University of Ottawa, Canada

The Encyclopedia of Central Banking provides definitive and comprehensive encyclopedic coverage on central banking and monetary theory and policy. Containing close to 250 entries from specially commissioned experts in their fields, elements of past and current monetary policies are described and a critical assessment of central bank practices is presented.

Since the global financial crisis of 2008-09, all major central banks have intervened to avert the collapse of the global economy, bringing monetary policy to the forefront. Rochon and Rossi give an up to date, critical understanding of central banking, at both theoretical and policy-oriented levels. This Encyclopedia explains the complexity of monetary-policy interventions, their conceptual and institutional frameworks, and their own limits and drawbacks. The reader is provided with the body of knowledge necessary to understand central banks’ decisions in the aftermath of the global financial crisis and controversial explanations of the crisis are illuminated from a historical perspective.

Academics and students of economics will find this an indispensable reference tool, offering current and necessary insight into central banking and monetary policy. Practitioners in the financial sector will also benefit from this refreshed insight into such a fundamental topic.