How should central banks communicate? In his blog, Ben Bernanke makes the case for the US system which has recently been criticized as resulting in “cacophony.” His points are:

• Public speeches of FOMC participants “are a forum for elaborating and providing evidence for their positions.”
• “The open airing of policymakers’ opinions and analysis actively engages the public in debates about critical issues.” For example, it may generate a debate in academia which benefits the quality of Fed decisions.
• “For democratic legitimacy and accountability, the Fed needs to be transparent about how it makes monetary policy decisions. … It should also be reassuring to those who disagree with Fed decisions to know that, more often than not, their point of view is being represented in the Fed’s internal debates.”