Balance of Power

“The author’s principal theme is the ‘insufficient democratic accountability of central banks.’” * Wall Street Journal *
“Monnet takes the reader through the evolution of central banks’ role in societies during the past few decades, within monetary policy as well as financial supervision. It is precisely the expansion of tasks and the scope of central banks’ policies that give urgency to the discussion of the interplay between central banks and elected bodies in democracies. One of the key premises for the author’s conclusions and proposals is that the monetary policy operations as well as the methodology of financial supervision has massive effects on the distribution of income and wealth. One can agree or disagree with this point of view, but it certainly warrants discussion.”
* Central Banking *
”[Balance of Power] explores highly pertinent questions about the legitimacy of central banks that will need to be settled in the next few years.” * Financial World *
“[An] impressive history of how central banks have become political superpowers of modern societies… . Monnet argues that central banks’ monetary policies should be subject to democratic control, as the banks’ current powers are too significant to be solely managed by independent authorities operating as inward-facing technocrats.” * Library Journal *
“Essential reading for understanding why reconnecting central banks to the people is crucial to meet the major challenges of our time, from rising inequality to the climate crisis.” * LSE Review of Books *
“Éric Monnet’s Balance of Power is a brilliantly concise book. On the one hand, it explains what central banks do in an accessible, sufficiently technical, and historically founded manner — a useful contribution in itself, given that most undergraduate macroeconomics textbooks declare that ‘central banks set the interest rate’, gesture vaguely at fractional reserve banking, and leave it there.” – Angus Bylsma * Substack *
“Whether one agrees with Monnet’s perspectives or not, his book remains a must-read for both economists and economic historians.” – Marianna Astore * Journal of European Economic History *
“A thought-provoking and timely analysis.” – J. Bradford DeLong * Grasping Reality *
“An unflinching, revelatory book. Monnet reopens the public debate on central banks for this century. A must-read.” – Thomas Piketty, author of ‘Capital in the Twenty-First Century’
“Balance of Power explores the key challenge facing modern central banks: being democratic while remaining independent. Monnet captures everything that makes these institutions so interesting—and so essential to contemporary societies.” – Jean-Pierre Landau, former deputy governor, Banque de France
“A forceful argument that central banks’ policies and money creation should be subject to democratic control. Populist? Maybe. But also bold and commonsensical? Absolutely.” – Hélène Landemore, author of ‘Open Democracy’
“Monnet shows that the political natures of central banks must be acknowledged—and then legitimated—if we are to retain their critical role for the public welfare. An essential work from one of the most important economic historians of our time.” – Jonathan Levy, author of ‘Ages of American Capitalism’
“Balance of Power shows that the biggest challenges of our time—climate change, rising inequality, geopolitical fragmentation—become more solvable when we reconnect central banks to the people they are meant to serve. This is a book whose time is now.” – Saule T. Omarova, Cornell University
“A lucid, compelling case for connecting central bank policies to other imperatives of public policy, from the environment to wages and beyond. A must-read for anyone interested in how democratic institutions will adapt in the twenty-first century.” – Katharina Pistor, author of ‘The Code of Capital’

Éric Monnet is professor at the Paris School of Economics and director of studies at the School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Paris. He was named France’s best young economist by Le Monde in 2022.

Steven Rendall is professor emeritus of romance languages at the University of Oregon. He has translated more than eighty books into English.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.