A formal inflation target represents a national embrace of a goal, in which elected authorities recognize the primacy of price stability and publicly support – indeed, even require – the central bank's pursuit of that goal.
To the extent that elected authorities channel the desires of the electorate, a central bank directed to adopt an inflation target is being given a strong signal as to the goal's importance to the public at large. This affirmation has often been reinforced by the granting of operational independence to the central bank to achieve that goal most effectively.