| Abstract: | 由於COVID-19危機後，全球經濟成長率大幅下降，為此中央銀行購債的規模更大、速度更快並採行過去未曾實施過的措施，其職能變革又擴張至另一層次。本文總體地觀察中央銀行於歷史的洪流中所扮演的角色與職能範圍，從其起源論起至其於2020年COVID-19危機時的轉變，嘗試界定中央銀行職能的界限並提出其回應危機的參考準則，最後，以我國中央銀行為核心進行前述框架為基礎之分析。
中央銀行最初係作為政府的銀行，爾後，其經歷金本位制度的盛行、兩次世界大戰、大通膨時期與大溫和時期後，其作為最後貸款者之角色大致定型，且當時多認為透過確保物價穩定即可同步維持金融穩定，然2008年全球金融危機打破此一看法。中央銀行為回應全球金融危機時實施許多過去所未採行的職能，包括量化寬鬆、新增融通工具及負利率政策等，並且於危機後進行一系列的監理改革，將金融穩定納入其政策目標之中；而於2020年COVID-19危機時，中央銀行所採取之行動不僅規模擴大，甚至提供信用給中小企業。本文希冀透過分析中央銀行於最近兩次危機時的職能擴張及所生之副作用，從不同的角度、以不同的判斷基準界定中央銀行職能的界限，並提出其回應危機時應參考之準則與要點。
由於我國之金融體系結構、市場大小與貨幣的強勢程度與大國相異，且所採行之回應危機的舉措亦不同於主要之中央銀行，職能擴張的範圍較窄，因此不宜直接適用前述總體的分析與參考準則。據此，本文針對我國中央銀行之職能變革進行辨析，並提出適用於我國中央銀行之準則與要點，希冀能作為其面對下一次危機時的參考。
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected global economic growth, central banks’ responses to the crisis have been extraordinary in speed, size, and scope. That means central banks’ functional changes have expanded to another level. This thesis observes central banks’ missions and roles from then to now, and tries to discuss central banks’ transformations and define the boundaries of their functions. This thesis, then, proposes possible guidelines for central banks to tackle the challenges facing them in the future. Based on the above framework, this thesis also conducts a case study of the Central Bank of the Republic of China (CBC).
The story of central banking evolves along the line of acting as the government’s bank, then adapting with the gold standard, two world wars, the Great Inflation, and the Great Moderation. That is when the role of central banks as the lender of last resort has taken shape. At that time, people believed price stability would foster financial stability. However, the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) compromises this belief in 2008. To lighten the damages caused by the GFC, central banks performed a lot of initiatives, including Quantitative Easing (QE), new financing facilities, and negative interest rates. The GFC not only triggered a series of regulatory reforms but also prompted central banks to reconsider the importance of financial stability and their respective roles in safeguarding it. During the COVID-19 crisis, central banks scaled up their operations and even extended credit directly to Small-and-Medium Business (SMEs). In short, the powers of central banks have expanded substantially after 2020. After exploring the changes in central banks’ functions and identifying the side effects of those changes in the last two crises, this thesis examines the boundaries of central banks’ missions and roles with different standards.
At last, since Taiwan’s financial system structure, market size, and currency strength are different from large developed countries, the measures adopted by the CBC were not the same as those of major central banks in the two crises. In other words, the expansions of CBC’s functions were narrower than major central banks in developed economies, and therefore the CBC cannot directly apply the abovementioned guidelines this thesis highlights. Therefore, through analyzing the CBC’s missions and objectives, this thesis concludes and suggests prospects for the CBC to weather the next crisis shall it comes. |
