The reason central banks have been given mandates that are expressed in terms of numerical objectives for  1  For details, see the speech entitled Monetary policy and balance sheet adjustment delivered at the ECB Forum on Central Banking in Sintra on 27 May 2014.
BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  inflation is because legislatures realised that central banks’ discretion had to be constrained. Their reaction functions had to be made predictable within a horizon which is realistic and, at the same time, verifiable by electorates. So, what is the role of monetary policy in this scenario?