Independence also requires that central banks must not be obliged to finance the government fiscal deficit. As a counter-balance to central bank independence, Fischer underscored the accountability of central banks, ie their responsibility to achieve their objective. While these principles were gaining ground in monetary policy, the advanced economies entered a highly favourable period of economic development, now referred to as the Great Moderation.
This period of low inflation and stable economic growth persisted for more than ten years, until the emergence of the financial crisis.