Monetary Mystique: Secrecy and Central Banking

The paper contains a theoretical discussion of the role of secrecy in the implementation of monetary policy.  It documents the Federal Reserve's defense of secrecy as argued in a recent Freedom of Information Act suit.  The Federal Reserve's arguments are evaluated on the basis of economic theory.  Theoretical papers related to the secrecy issue are reviewed.  The discussion highlights a number of potential benefits and costs of central banking secrecy, and identifies some conditions under which secrecy could be socially beneficial.