Riksbank hosts international research conference on the governance of central banks

Date 31/08/2006

On 31 August and 1 September, the Riksbank will be hosting an international research conference on the governance of central banks.

Governor Stefan Ingves and First Deputy Governor Eva Srejber are among the 28 speakers at the conference, which will gather representatives from more than 15 central banks and leading academics from Europe and North America.

Riksbank governor Stefan Ingves says that “It is important to discuss the general principles that should form the basis for the good governance of central banks. The objective of the Riksbank is to be among the best and most efficient central banks in the world. In order to be able to reach that goal, we need to be open for new insights, from both other central banks and academics.”

The topic of good corporate governance has received considerable attention since the late 1980s. Typically, corporate governance refers to the relationship between all stakeholders in a company, and comprises all processes, laws and institutions that affect how an organisation is directed or controlled. Public bodies, like the Riksbank, differ from profit-oriented organisations. They therefore require different rules and institutions, although much can be learnt from people with knowledge of corporate governance.

“Governments and parliaments have assigned central banks complex tasks. This trust creates a responsibility for us to work as efficiently and effectively as possible. By organising this conference, we can explore common features and differences between central bank governance and corporate governance and learn from the interaction between central bankers and academics. The Riksbank is, for example, interested in what the most efficient governance structure is for a central bank. We also hope to stimulate researchers to work more on projects that can shed more light on how to organise central banks as efficiently as possible,” says Stefan Ingves.

The programme, a list of participants and copies of the research to be presented at the conference, is available on the Riksbank’s website.