S4 Ep22: Director's Cut: Central banking and the problem of unelected power

The Sound of Economics

Paul Tucker, former deputy governor of the Bank of England, joins Bruegel director Guntram Wolff to discuss the thesis of his new book, as well as the current tensions within current models of central banking governance.

On the agenda is the contention that there is, and even should be, a limit to the level of responsibility that a central bank can reasonably be expected to shoulder. Some decisions have such far-reaching consequences that we might prefer they be made by elected, rather than appointed, officials.

Paul Tucker presented his book in an event at Bruegel in May 2018, with Bruegel deputy director Maria Demertzis hosting a debate between Paul Tucker, Joanne Kellermann, former member of the Single Resolution Board, and Jean Pisani-Ferry, mercator senior fellow at Bruegel.

For further reading, consider 'Central Banking in Turbulent Times' - a book co-written by Bruegel senior fellow Francesco Papadia with Tuomas Valimaki, launched at a Bruegel event in April 2018.

Additionally, we recommend reading Silvia Merler's collation of economists' opinions on the current state of central banking in an age of populist politics.