Central Bank Independence and Inflation in Transition Economies: A Comparative Meta-Analysis with Developed and Developing Economies

Abstract

This article empirically examines the effect of central bank independence (CBI) on inflation by means of a comparative meta-analysis of studies of transition economies and of other developed and developing economies. The results of a meta-synthesis indicate that both transition and nontransition studies have successfully identified a negative relationship between CBI and inflation. Moreover, the present meta-regression analysis suggests that a series of study conditions strongly affected the empirical results concerning transition economies. The article also finds that no significant difference exists between the two types of studies in terms of either effect size or statistical significance.