This book explores how monetary policy contributes to the efficient allocation of resources, with special reference made to the contribution of the effective workings of the financial system. It argues that the stability of the financial system promotes the smooth functioning of the payment systems and the effective transmission of monetary policy, thus promoting the achievement of monetary policy objectives. The interrelated issues addressed here include the ways various monetary policy objectives are achieved, their effective presentation to the public, and the strategic role of money growth in the conduct of monetary policy. The analysis underlines the context of financial-market performance in recent decades and the varied central bank responses to the emergence of the global financial crisis. This book constitutes a useful companion to graduate students in economics, researchers and business and central banking practitioners in understanding the unending quest of the shifting roles of money and financial practices to reconcile growth and stability.