THE NATURAL PRICE OF MONEY MAKES THE INDEPENDENCE OF CENTRAL BANKS OBSOLETE

Relying on the theoretical meaning and the normative value of the natural rate of interest, as inherited from the founders of the economic science, this article aims to demonstrate that the independence of central banks can only be a technical one – one of “dentists”, as Keynes would say. To prove our thesis, we set out to build our analysis onto three directions. First, we identify arguments to show that excessive independence, by means of the ‘new classical economics’, is not sustainable. Then, we show how the natural rate of interest renders the central bank more disciplined and shapes its independence only within technical boundaries. And thirdly, we show how the attempts to preserve its extended independence by keeping some features of the natural rate remain tentative.