Using a newly constructed dataset over the period 1984–2017 for 21 African countries, this study investigates the influence of central bankers' personal characteristics, including educational and professional backgrounds, as well as ethnic affiliation, on inflation. The central hypothesis posits that shared ethnic affiliation between the central banker and the head of the executive branch signals an alliance between monetary and fiscal authorities, suggesting a preference for a more accommodating central banker. The results strongly support the existence of ethnic favoritism, indicating that the impact of joint ethnicity on inflation is contingent on the level of ethnic diversity within a country. Notably, as ethnic diversity increases, joint ethnicity results in a more modest reduction in inflation. Additionally, the analysis reveals that in ethnically diverse settings, inflation tends to be lower when there is ethnic alignment between the central banker and the head of state, compared to scenarios without such alignment.

中文翻译：

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央行行长的特征对非洲重要吗？种族偏袒、分化和通货膨胀


本研究使用 1984 年至 2017 年期间新构建的 21 个非洲国家数据集，调查了中央银行家的个人特征（包括教育和专业背景以及种族归属）对通货膨胀的影响。核心假设认为，央行行长和行政部门负责人之间的共同种族关系标志着货币和财政当局之间的联盟，表明人们倾向于选择更加宽松的央行行长。结果强烈支持种族偏袒的存在，表明共同种族对通货膨胀的影响取决于一个国家内种族多样性的水平。值得注意的是，随着种族多样性的增加，联合种族会导致通货膨胀更加温和地下降。此外，分析还表明，在种族多元化的环境中，与没有种族联盟的情况相比，当央行行长和国家元首之间存在种族联盟时，通货膨胀往往会较低。