(iPoster) The Relationship between Foreign Bank Ownership and Central Bank Independence in Latin America

• In Event: Poster Session: New Perspectives in Political Science Research: Scholarship by Vanderbilt REU Students

Abstract

Central Bank Independence serves as an indication of the level of autonomy a country's central monetary institution, or central bank, possesses. Existing literature explores the methods in which domestic monetary factors and policies are operationalized to produce the measure of CBI, as well as the effectiveness of the institution as a whole. Although, the study of how foreign variables correlate to the variation of CBI levels in dynamic regions, defined as regions in which central bank autonomy is relatively volatile like Latin America, is lacking. The measure of Foreign Bank Ownership within a country serves as an indicator of foreign influence. Therefore, utilizing existing research from the Quality of Government Dataset, I am able to utilize linear regressions to examine the relationship between Central Bank Independence and Foreign Bank Ownership in Latin America. Research on the varying influences capable of affecting a nation’s level of central bank independence allows for monetary institutions to be better educated on how to ward off negative influences and maintain economic stability.

Author

• Clayton Detant, Howard University