Author information:
Barry Eichengreen https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1683-4486: University of California – Berkeley, George C. Pardee & Helen N. Pardee Chair and Distinguished Professor of Economics and Political Science; National Bureau of Economic Research, Research Associate; Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research Fellow. E-mail: eichengr@berkeley.edu
Abstract:
This study compares monetary policy and inflation in Hungary in the first half of the 1920s and the first half of the 1990s. In both periods, economic and financial imbalances placed pressure on the central bank to provide inflationary finance. Eventually, in response to the resulting inflation, central bank independence was significantly strengthened. But while central bank independence helped, in neither case did it suffice to prevent subsequent instability. The central bank inevitably felt pressure to accommodate problems emanating from the banking sector, the balance of payments, the government budget and weakened sectors of the economy. The paper concludes by drawing out the implications for current legislation potentially affecting the independence of Hungary’s central bank.
Cite as (APA):
Eichengreen, B. (2024). Central Bank Independence and Monetary Stability in Hungary, 1920s and 1990s. Financial and Economic Review, 23(4), 44–53. https://doi.org/10.33893/FER.23.4.44
Column:
Study
Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) codes:
E42, E52, E63, N14
Keywords:
central banks, central bank independence, monetary policy, stabilization, Magyar Nemzeti Bank
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