Central banks play important roles in monetary policy, financial sector supervision, and payment systems. Central bank policies can play critical roles in whether the financial system advances financial inclusion. As technology continues to change...
“The role of the central bank is undoubtedly evolving….The time is ripe for innovations that will advance financial inclusion” So concludes the final research paper of the two-year Central Bank of the Future research project, conducted by the Ford...
Promoting financial inclusion is a stated political goal in many countries, including among central banks. Central banks address financial inclusion in a variety of ways – through programming, international alliances, and as part of their formal...
As part of the "Central Bank of the Future" research project undertaken by Primary Investigators Michael S. Barr and Adrienne Harris of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy between December 2018 and May 2021, the Center on Finance, Law &...
Ford School Dean Michael Barr and professor of practice Adrienne Harris say the technologies of the “payments revolution,” which enable people to make payments and access bank accounts more easily, can also lead to greater financial...
A Central Bank Experience During COVID-19
Note: As part of the Central Bank of the Future research project, we asked a few people to help us think big in reimagining the Central Bank of 2070. What underlying assumptions would have to change to...
Note: As part of the Central Bank of the Future research project, we asked a few people to help us think big in reimagining the Central Bank of 2070. What underlying assumptions would have to change to foster economic inclusion? This post is the...
Note: As part of the Central Bank of the Future research project, we asked a few people to help us think big in reimagining the Central Bank of 2070. What underlying assumptions would have to change to foster economic inclusion? This post is the...
Note: As part of the Central Bank of the Future research project, we asked a few people to help us think big in reimagining the Central Bank of 2070. What underlying assumptions would have to change to foster economic inclusion? This post is the...
The University of Michigan's Center on Finance, Law & Policy and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco are co-hosting the second “Central Bank of the Future” Conference on Monday-Wednesday November 16 – 18, 2020, and we hope that you can join us from 12-4 EST.
Traditionally, central banks have served three policy functions – monetary policy, payments systems oversight, and financial institution supervision. This conference will convene international experts and practitioners to examine how these core functions contribute to financial inclusion, poverty alleviation, and a more inclusive economy – and what could be improved.
The conference contributes to a research initiative undertaken by the University of Michigan’s Center on Finance, Law & Policy, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to consider how the role of a central bank could evolve in the future and enable central banks to make greater contributions toward financial inclusion. Ultimately, the research intends to identify technologies, processes, or tools that could benefit a central bank in supporting public policy objectives related to inclusion, and consider whether other sectors, including philanthropy, might have a role to play in supporting the development of those tools.
Registration to the event is free. Speakers and attendees will include individuals from standards-setting bodies, central banks and other financial regulators, and policymakers, as well as futurists and technologists, and other financial ecosystem stakeholders.
For more information visit http://financelawpolicy.umich.edu.
Over the past two years, the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and its Center on Finance, Law & Policy, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has embarked on an exploration of the Central Bank of the...
This brief is part of the Central Bank of the Future Project (“CBOTF”), a research project that seeks to identify ways that central banks across the world can improve access to financial products and services for underserved communities. CBOTF...
“Financial inclusion in India is soaring,” reads a 2019 headline from the World Economic Forum. The article is rife with promising statistics. In just seven years, the number of Indian citizens holding a bank account increased from forty to eighty...
On March 31, 2021, the University of Michigan Center on Finance, Law & Policy convened a roundtable of central bankers, policy experts, and researchers to examine the intersection of climate change and financial inclusion. Participants included a...
In June 2020, the University of Michigan Center on Finance, Law & Policy held a virtual Roundtable for the Central Bank of the Future Project. This event explored whether central banks could provide services in the following areas: real time...
This open source dataset created by the University of Michigan Center on Finance, Law & Policy. Designed to contribute to an international perspective, this original dataset identifies which central banks around the world have made financial...
This brief is part of the Central Bank of the Future Project (“CBOTF” or the “Project”), which is designed to identify ways that central banks can improve access to financial products and services for underserved communities. The Project engages...
This paper provides a summary of the Center on Finance, Law & Policy's conference held on October 2-3, 2019 at the University of Michigan called The Central Bank of the Future. The conference brought together distinguished Central Bank Governors,...
This paper is intended to distill the discussion of the June 2019 Central Bank of the Future Roundtable held at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. The goal of the Roundtable was to consider new ideas that could...
The goal of this paper is to provide an early research note, beginning to build a foundation for a series of forthcoming Central Bank of the Future (CBOTF) papers, so that readers embark on this journey with a basic understanding of the evolution of...
This paper was drafted at the inception of the Central Bank of the Future research project as a brief memo and overview of ideas. It is intended to provide background supporting the project’s intent and importance. The brief details the approach...
In partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, this project explores the mandate and design of central banks to consider whether they might play an even stronger role in promoting financial inclusion, financial health, and a more inclusive...
In support of the Central Bank of the Future research project, Principal Investigators Michael S. Barr and Adrienne A. Harris invited a few people to think big by asking this question: What might the Central Bank of 2070 look like? Here are some of...
To combat the financial impacts of COVID-19, central banks have implemented a variety of emergency response programs. This session reviews how those programs are changing the role of the central bank and how they interact with inclusion.
Mr. Mu Changchun, Director-General of the Digital Currency Institute at the People’s Bank of China, discusses eYuan, ANT financial, and China’s approach to digital currency with Dean Michael Barr of the Ford School of Public Policy.
The 2020 Central Bank of the Future Conference concludes with a discussion between Governor Patrick Njoroge of the Central Bank of Kenya and Christopher Calabia of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
