Australia's Money Mandarins tells the story of the Reserve Bank of Australia over the past two decades.

For most of its life the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has lead a fairly conservative existence. However, since the early 1980s the economy has experienced financial and market deregulation and general economic liberalisation. The RBA has been caught up with the turbulent policy debates that have ensued. Australia's Money Mandarins tells the story of the RBA over the past two decades. It discusses how the Bank operated in the new political environment created by deregulation and the fight against inflation. It describes the conflicts with the government and the Department of Treasury, and how the bank dealt with the rough and tumble of politics and managed to assert a level of independence in the 1990s. Including frank interviews with key figures like Bob Johnson, Bernie Fraser, Ian Macfarlane and Paul Keating this book will appeal to anyone with an interest in the politics of money.

1. Slowly building the Reserve Bank
2. Into the monetary policy wilderness
3. Snapping the stick of inflation
4. A measure of peace? Monetary policy in the 1990s
5. Towards RBA independence
6. RBA independence - why?
7. Should the RBA be independent?
8. Internal governance and the board
9. New challenges in a world of asset inflation.