Central Bank Independence Cultural Codes and Symbolic Performance

Given the unprecedented role central banks have come to play in our societies, the link between their legitimacy, public support and their independence has become increasingly important. Over the past thirty years, academics and practitioners have tried to systematically pin down the sources of central bank independence. One of them, however, culture, has continuously eluded their grip. By delving into public communication about German, European and US monetary affairs, this book presents a new analytical framework that will capture the subtle, often inconspicuous, and yet powerful workings of culture in central banking.

Carlo Tognato is Faculty Fellow at the Center for Cultural Sociology at Yale University, USA, and Visiting Research Fellow at the Indo-Pacific Governance Research Center and the School of History and Politics at the University of Adelaide, Australia.

1. Culture in Economic Life
2. Stability Cultures and Central Banking
3. The German Stabilitätskultur
4. A Stability Culture for Europe
5. Tackling the US Financial Crisis