DAVID HOWARTH is a Lecturer in European Political Economy at The School of Social and Political Studies, University of Edinburgh, UK PETER LOEDEL is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. He has written books and articles on the topic of German and European monetary politics including Deutsche Mark Politics.

'...probably the best theoretical and historical introduction to the ECB yet published.' - Mark Joyce, Eurobusiness

• Preface: The European Central Bank; The New European Leviathan? Analytical and Theoretical Approaches to the Study of the European Central Bank The Long and Winding Road to the ECB: European Monetary Authority in the Prehistory of EMU National Attitudes on the ECB and Central Bank Independence Managing Europe's Money: The Organization, Powers and Functions of the ECB The Independence of the ECB A Question of Credibility: A Short History of ECB Monetary Policy Conclusion: The ECB and the Future of Europe