Emancipating the banking system and developing markets for government debt

the long version

This book, published in association with the Bank of England, assesses the damaging effects of inflationary finance, financial repression and excessive government borrowing from abroad on economic performance in 111 countries. It then presents a practical guide to developing voluntary domestic markets for government debt. The book focuses on some of the practical issues involved in establishing a functional market for government debt in countries that have not so far developed one. To obtain a better understanding of the changes involved, the Bank of England asked the central banks in Ghana, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, countries that had recently developed voluntary domestic markets for government debt, to answer some questions about the process of changes. All eight central banks responded and much of the material in the book is based on these questionnaire responses.