A hierarchical mandate makes price stability the primary objective for monetary policy and subordinates other potential objectives. A dual mandate recognizes two objectives – price stability and full employment – and puts them on an equal footing. Either regime could make the price stability objective more precise by setting an explicit numerical target for inflation.
Thus we can describe a typical central bank's mandate and objectives in terms of two sets of alternatives: between a hierarchical or a dual mandate, on the one hand, and an implicit or explicit inflation objective, on the other hand.