The Central Bank Independence Dataset is the most comprehensive data set on de jure central bank independence (CBI) available to date. The data set identifies statutory reforms affecting CBI, their direction, and the attributes necessary to build the Cukierman, Webb, and Neyapti (1992) (CWN) index in 185 countries between 1970 and 2012. This is the version 2 of the dataset originally published in Garriga (2016) and includes new observations and corrections based on legislation retrieved after the publication of the original dataset.
This data set codes the existence of reforms in 6,845 observations and computes the CWN index for 6,192 observations. The data coverage not only allows researchers to test competing explanations on the determinants and effects of CBI in both developed and developing countries, but it also provides a useful instrument for cross-national studies in diverse fields.