A Century of Monetary Policy at the Fed: Ben Bernanke, Janet Yellen, and the Financial Crisis of 2008

by David E. Lindsey

Overview

In this narrative history, David E. Lindsey gives the reader a ringside seat to a century of policies at the US Federal Reserve. Alternating between broad historical strokes and deep dives into the significance of monetary issues and developments, Lindsey offers a fascinating look into monetary policymaking from the Fed's inception in 1913 to today.

Lindsey's three decades of service on the Federal Reserve Board staff allow him to combine the heft of scholarship with an insider's perspective on how the recent chairmen's and current chairwoman's personalities and singular visions have shaped policy choices with far-reaching consequences. He critiques the performances of Chairman Ben Bernanke and Vice Chair Janet Yellen during the prelude, outbreak, and aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008, situating them in the context of the Fed's century-long history. He also quantitatively explores an alternative to the conventional New-Keynesian theory of inflation, replacing so-called "rational expectations" with the Fed's inflation objective.

This unique volume is a piece of living history that has much to offer economists and monetary policy and finance professionals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781137578587
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	01/30/2016
Series:	Palgrave Studies in American Economic History
Edition description:	1st ed. 2090
Pages:	337
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

David E. Lindsey was a 29-year veteran of the Federal Reserve Board's senior staff when he retired in 2003. He became Associate Economist of the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee in 1984 and Deputy Director of the Division of Monetary Affairs in 1987. Lindsey received his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1970, writing his thesis under Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman.

Table of Contents

1. Introducing the Book
PART I: THE BROAD SWEEP OF FEDERAL RESERVE HISTORY
2. Growing Pains: Being Born after Panic and Experiencing Childhood in the Great Depression
3. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: Splitting from the Treasury in Adolescence and Maturing More
4. Suffering Mid-Life Crises: Confronting Severe Inflation and Financial Meltdown in Adulthood
5. Understanding the Basics from a Contemporary Perspective
PART II: MONETARY POLICY IN BERNANKE'S ERA
6. Saying Oops: Assuming the Chairmanship
7. Imagining Financial Armageddon, Making Emergency Loans in the Crisis, and Pursuing QE1
8. Cruising on QE2, Twisting Again, and Designing Even More Preemptively
9. Reaching for QE3 and Then Postponing Tapering
PART III: RELATED DEVELOPMENTS IN BERNANKE'S ERA
10. Taxing and Spending: Taking a Closer Look at Fiscal Policymaking and Communication
10. Appendix: Understanding from the Ground Up How Monetary and Fiscal Policies Interact
11. Strengthening Financial Regulations
12. Prosecuting the Guilty, Revealing Crisis Lending, and Endangering Fed Independence
13. Experiencing Deflation or Disinflation around the World
14. Concluding the Book

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Exceptionally well written, cogently argued, and an important contribution to monetary policy and history." - Janet Yellen

Editorial Reviews

How the Federal Reserve handled the 2008 financial crisis continues to be hotly debated. Here is an outstanding insider’s view of the crisis, targeting advanced students of economics. … Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.” (J. J. Janney, Choice, Vol. 54 (4), December, 2016)

From the Publisher