Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/50346 
Year of Publication: 
2008
Series/Report no.: 
KOF Working Papers No. 195
Publisher: 
ETH Zurich, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, Zurich
Abstract: 
How many people should decide about monetary policy? In this paper, we take an empirical perspective on this issue, analyzing the relationship between the number of monetary policy decision-makers and monetary policy outcomes. Using a new data set that characterizes Monetary Policy Committees (MPCs) in more than 30 countries from 1960 through 2000, we find a U-shaped relation between the membership size of MPCs and inflation; our results suggest that the lowest level of inflation is reached at MPCs with about seven to ten members. Similar results are obtained for other measures, such as inflation variability and output growth. We also find that MPC size influences the success of monetary targeting regimes. In contrast, there is no evidence that either turnover rates of MPC members or the membership composition of MPCs affect economic outcomes.
Subjects: 
central bank design
monetary policy committee
central bank board
central bank council
governance
inflation
JEL: 
E52
E58
E61
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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