In part this reflects the increased development of capital markets and the speed and force with which they respond to economic developments. Markets crave information, and the central bank’s assessment of the state of the economy is one part of the information set. In part, the demand for communication accompanies increased operational independence for central banks.
When the central bank is making an important policy decision under an authority delegated by the Parliament, as opposed to implementing a decision made by a minister – and that is what we are doing in the case of monetary policy – there will naturally  BIS Review 147/2007  1  be an expectation for accountability.