Does a good central banker make a difference?

Matthias Neuenkirch and Peter Tillmann

No 2013-08, Research Papers in Economics from University of Trier, Department of Economics

Abstract: The personalities of central bankers moved center stage during the recent financial crisis. Some central bankers even gained "superstar" status. In this paper, we evaluate the pivotal role of superstar central bankers by assessing the difference an outstanding governor makes to economic performance. We employ school grades given to central bankers by the financial press. A superstar central banker is one receiving the top grade. In a probit estimation we first relate the grades to measures of economic performance, institutional features, and personal characteristics. We then employ a nearest neighbor matching approach to identify the central bankers which are closest to those receiving the top grade and compare the economic performance across both groups. The results suggest that a superstar governor indeed matters: a top-graded central banker faces a significantly more favorable output-inflation trade-off than his peers. This effect is driven by outstanding central bankers in emerging markets.

Keywords: Central banking; monetary policy; nearest neighbor matching (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E52 E58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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http://www.uni-trier.de/fileadmin/fb4/prof/VWL/EWF/Research_Papers/2013-08.pdf Third version, 2014 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: DOES A GOOD CENTRAL BANKER MAKE A DIFFERENCE? (2016)
Working Paper: Does a Good Central Banker make a Difference? (2013)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:trr:wpaper:201308

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