The role of the central bank has become a subject of intense debate in the wake of the recent global financial crisis. In this volume, experts and policy makers discuss what lessons we can draw by examining the evolution of the central bank over the past two centuries.

Preface Michael D. Bordo, Øyvind Eitrheim, Marc Flandreau and Jan F. Qvigstad; 1. Introduction Michael D. Bordo, Øyvind Eitrheim, Marc Flandreau and Jan F. Qvigstad; 2. The descent of central banks (1400¿1815) William Roberds and François R. Velde; 3. Central bank credibility - an historical and quantitative exploration Michael D. Bordo and Pierre L. Siklos; 4. The coevolution of money markets and monetary policy, 1815¿2008 Clemens Jobst and Stefano Ugolini; 5. Central bank independence in small open economies Forrest Capie, Geoffrey Wood and Juan Castañeda; 6. Fighting the last war - economists on the lender of last resort Richard S. Grossman and Hugh Rockoff; 7. A century and a half of central banks, international reserves and international currencies Barry Eichengreen and Marc Flandreau; 8. Central banks and the stability of the international monetary regime Catherine Schenk and Tobias Straumann; 9. The international monetary and financial system - a capital account historical perspective Claudio Borio, Harold James and Hyun Song Shin; 10. Central banking - perspectives from emerging economies Menzie D. Chinn; 11. The evolution of the financial stability mandate from its origins to the present day Gianni Toniolo and Eugene N. White; 12. Bubbles and central banks - historical perspectives Markus K. Brunnermeier and Isabel Schnabel; 13. Central banks and payment systems - the evolving trade-off between cost and risk Charles Kahn, Stephen Quinn and Will Roberds; 14. Central bank evolution - lessons learnt from the sub-prime crisis C. A. E. Goodhart; 15. The evolution of central banks - a practitioner's perspective Andrew G. Haldane and Jan F. Qvigstad; Index.