Central Banking in the Aftermath of the Crisis: Back to the Past?

Has the crisis caused a paradigm shift in central banking or only a temporary alteration? We provide a snapshot of the current state of central banking doctrine after the crisis, using data from a questionnaire produced in 2011 and sent to central bankers and economists for a report by the French Council of Economic Analysis to the Prime Minister. Our results are three-fold. First, we show that the financial crisis has led to some amendments of pre-crisis central banking. We highlight that respondents to the questionnaire agree on the general principle of a ‘broader’ view of central banking extended to financial stability. Nevertheless, secondly, they disagree or give inconsistent answers about the details of implementation of this ‘broader’ view. Third, we point out that because of central bankers’ conservatism, a return to the status quo ante cannot be excluded.