THE FOURTH DUBROVNIK CONFERENCE  ON TRANSITION ECONOMIES

"Central Banking and Monetary Policy: 
Major Issues and Implications for Transition Economies"

Organized by the Croatian National Bank
Dubrovnik, June  24-26, 1998

Scientific Committee

Organizing Committee

List of Participants

About the Book

The Book: "Central Banking and Monetary Policy:
                  Major Issues and Implications for Transition Economies"
                  by Mario I. Blejer and Marko Skreb
                  Publisher: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1999

About the Editor

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Mr. Marko Skreb - Chairman
Croatian National Bank

Mr. Pero Jurkovic
President's Office of Croatia

Mr. Robert A. Mundell
Columbia University

Mr. Mario I. Blejer
International Monetary Fund

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Mr. Marko Skreb - Chairman
Governor
Croatian National Bank

Ms. Lidija Pleadin - Secretary
Acting Chief of Staff
Croatian National Bank

Mr. Mario Kastrapeli
Sales Manager
Travel Agency "Atlas"

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

  1. Mr. France Arhar, Bank of Sovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia
  2. Mr. Mate Babic, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
  3. Mr. Mario I. Blejer, International Monetary Fund, Washington, USA
  4. Mr. Velimir Bole, Economic Institut of Law Faculty, Ljubljana, Slovenia
  5. Mr. John P. Bonin, Wesleyan University, Middleton, USA
  6. Mr. Warren Coats, International Monetary Fund, Washington, USA
  7. Mr. Alex Cukierman, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
  8. Mr. Allan Drazen, University of Maryland, USA
  9. Mr. Robert A. Feldman, International Monetary Fund, Washington, USA
10. Mr. Jacob A. Frenkel, Bank of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel
11. Mr. Lyubomir Filipov, Credit Bank PLC, Sofia, Bulgaria
12. Mr. Maxwell J. Fry, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
13. Mr. Steve H. Hanke, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
14. Mr. Miroslov Hrnčir, Czech National Bank, Praha, Czech Republic
15. Mr. Arye L. Hillman, Bar Illan University, Tel Aviv, Israel
16. Ms. Arntraud Hartmann, The World Bank, Washington, USA
17. Mr. Mugur Constantin Isarescu, National Bank of Romania, Bucharest, Romania
18. Mr. Pero Jurkovic, Adviser of the President of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
19. Mr. George G. Kaufman, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, USA
20. Mr. Evan Kraft, Croatian National Bank, Zagreb, Croatia
21. Mr. Ricardo Lago, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, UK
22. Mr. Leonardo Leiderman, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
23. Mr. Paul R. Masson, International Monetary Fund, Washington, USA
24. Mr. Ricardo Martin, The World Bank, Washington, USA
25. Mr. Zlatko Matesa, Government of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
26. Mr. Frederic S. Mishkin, Columbia University, New York, USA
27. Mr. Robert A. Mundell, Columbia University, New York, USA
28. Ms. Piroska M. Nagy, International Monetary Fund, Washington, USA
29. Mr. Gorazd Nikic, Institute of Economisc, Zagreb, Croatia
30. Mr. Peter Nicholl, Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, B&H
31. Mr. Mario Nuti, London Business School, London, UK
32. Mr. Gary O'Callaghan, IMF Representative Office, Zagreb, Croatia
33. Ms. Lidija Pleadin, Croatian National Bank, Zagreb, Croatia
34. Mr. Bozo Prka, Privredna Banka Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
35. Mr. Zdravko Rogic, Croatian National Bank, Zagreb, Croatia
36. Mr. Gyorgy Suranyi, National Bank of Hungary, Budapest, Hungary
37. Mr. Istvan P. Szekely, National Bank of Hungary, Budapest, Hungary
38. Mr. Sandor Sipos, The World Bank's Representative Office, Zagreb, Croatia
39. Mr. Borislav Skegro, Government of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
40. Mr. Marko Skreb, Croatian National Bank, Zagreb, Croatia
41. Mr. Velimir Sonje, Croatian National Bank, Zagreb, Croatia
42. Ms. Ruzica Vuger, Croatian National Bank, Zagreb, Croatia
43. Mr. Boris Vujcic, Croatian National Bank, Zagreb, Croatia
44. Mr. William R. White, BIS, Basle, Switzerland
45. Mr. Charles Wyplosz, Graduate Institute of Int. Studies, Geneva, Switzerland
46. Mr. J. de Beaufort Wijnholds, International Monetary Fund, Washington, USA
47. Mr. Martin Wolf, Financial Times, London, UK

About the book

The polemic about the proper role of monetary policies and the appropriate functions of central banks has received renewed stimulus from a number of very current actual events. In Europe, the creation of a supranational central bank has been realized. In the United States and in other industrial as well as emerging countries, the attributes and functions of central banks has been the subject of lengthy debates. Professional interest has also been recentlv centered on the issues of exchange regimes and the proper targeting of monetary policy.

The various papers in this collection deal with this set of monetary and central banking issues, and draw implications of high relevance post-socialist transition economies. These implications, however, are also important for other emerging markets and for advanced econornies as well. The major subjects covered are classified within the following five categories: (1) the definitions meaning, and results of central bank independence (2) goals and objectives of central bank operations (3) central bank and financial sector soundness (4) capital mobility, currency crises and the role of capital controls (5) the implications of European Monetary Unification for transition economies.

This book collects the contributions of very well - known experts in monetary and central banking theory and presents the results of original research specifically geared to understanding the implications of general economic theory for emerging and transition economies. The significant and very rapid changes in the nature of monetary transmission mechanisms require the adaptation of traditional theories to new realities. This need is most pressing in transition and emerging economies which lack experience and depth in their financial markets. In this book, the particular requirements of these economies are integrated in the main macroeconomic monetary theories. The volume also includes analyses of a number of current issues such as capital flows, currency crises, currency boards, and the implications   of  European Monetary Union for transition economies.

THE BOOK:  "Central Banking and Monetary Policy:
                    Major Issues and Implications for Transition Economies"
                    by Mario I. Blejer and Marko Skreb

Contents:

I  INTRODUCTION

        1. Central Banking and Monetary Policies in the Context of the 
            Transition Economies Experience
            Mario I. Blejer and Marko Skreb

II  CENTRAL BANK INDEPENDENCE

         2. Central Bank Independence and Monetary Policy
            Jacob A. Frenkel
         3. The Role of Central Bank in a Democratic Society
            Frederick S. Mishkin
         4. Central Bank Independence and the Political Business Cycle
            Allan Drazen
         5. The Political Economy of Central Bank Independence
            Arye L. Hillman

III  DEFINING CENTRAL BANK FUNCTIONS

        6. Central Banking and Economic Development
            Maxwell J. Fry

 III  CENTRAL BANKS AND FINANCIAL SOUNDNESS

         7. Central Banks, Asset Bubbles and Financial Stability
            George G. Kaufman
         8. The Conduct of Monetary Policy and Banking Soundness: A Slovenian Episode
            Velimir Bole

IV  DISINFLATION AND THE ROLE OF NOMINAL TARGETS

         9. Monetary Policy Strategies into the Transition to Low Inflation:
            Some Lessons from Recent Experiences
            Gil Bufman and Leonardo Leiderman

 V  CURRENCY CRISES AND CAPITAL CONTROLS

       10. Speculative Controls and Capital Mobility
            Charles Wyplosz
       11. Nascent Capital Flows, Learning and Chilean-type Controls:
            Implications for Transition Economies
            Marcelo Selowski and Ricardo Martin
       12. How Can Central Bank Decide on Capital Controls:
            Monetary Transmission Mechanism and Capital Account Liberalization in Croatia
            Velimir Sonje

VI  CURRENCY BOARDS

       13. Some Reflections about Currency Boards
             Stephen H. Hanke
       14. The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Its History and its Issues
             Warren Coats

VII  EMU AND TRANSITION ECONOMIES

       15. The International Impact of the Euro and its Implications for Transition Economies
             Robert A. Mundell
       16. Monetary and Exchange Rate Policy of Transition Economies of
            Central and Eastern Europe after the Launch of EMU
            Paul A. Masson

Contributors

Jacob A. Frenkel, Bank of Israel
Frederic S. Mishkin, Columbia University and National Bureau of Economic Research
Allan Drazen, University of Maryland and National Bureau of Economic Research
Arye L. Hillman, Bar Illan University
Maxwell J. Fry, University of Birmingham and Bank of England
George G. Kaufman, Loyola University and Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Velimir Bole, Economic Institut of Law Faculty
Gil Bufman, Academic College of Tel Aviv Yaffo
Leonardo Leiderman, Bank of Israel and Tel-Aviv University
Charles Wyplosz, Graduate Institute of Int. Studies
Marcelo Selowsky, The World Bank
Ricardo Martin, The World Bank
Velimir Sonje, Croatian National Bank
Steve H. Hanke, The Johns Hopkins University
Warren Coats, International Monetary Fund
Robert A. Mundell, Columbia University
Paul R. Masson, International Monetary Fund