ABSTRACT
In 1900 only 18 countries had central banks and today the number is 172 (King, 1999)_ More than half of these participated in the survey on which this Report is based, and the central banks covered in the Report come from economies representing over 95% of the world’s GDP. 1 In using information from such a broad cross-section of the world’s central banks, the report has shed light on the role and workings of these important institutions: their priorities and processes in policy formulation; their relationships with government and the private sector; their analytical processes; and the important institutional and analytical constraints under which they operate. Above all the Report has sought to represent and interpret the views of central banks within an objective framework.
