This collection of essays, written by former bankers, practising central bankers, government advisers and historians, celebrates the seventieth anniversary of the National Bank of Hungary. From a range of view points, the contributions consider the monetary and financial history of the past century and, in particular, explore possible parallelisms between experiences of the collapse of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1918 and of contemporary changes since 1989. The first part, comprising four essays, concentrates upon central banking, especially the development of the National Bank of Hungary since...