Traditionally Central Bank Independence has been viewed as important, if inflationary biases are to be effectively countered. Recently, however, economists have raised concerns that CBI has decreased since the financial crisis and may even be under threat. Certainly the new tools and responsibilities of the central banks come with new challenges for Central Bank Independence. In this Policy Insight de Haan and Eijffinger look at why CBI matters and whether it has changed since the Great Financial Crisis.