The Historical Performance Of The Federal Reserve

Distinguished economist Michael D. Bordo argues for the importance of monetary stability and monetary rules, offering theoretical, empirical, and historical perspectives to support his case. He shows how the pursuit of stable monetary policy guided by central banks following rule-like behavior produces low and stable inflation, stable real performance, and encourages financial stability. In contrast, he explains how the failure to adhere to rules that produce monetary stability will inevitably produce the dire consequences of real, nominal, and financial instability. Bordo also examines the performance of the Federal Reserve and he reviews the history of monetary policy during the Great Depression.

Provides an in-depth overview of the Federal Reserve System, including information about monetary policy and the economy, the Federal Reserve in the international sphere, supervision and regulation, consumer and community affairs and services offered by Reserve Banks. Contains several appendixes, including a brief explanation of Federal Reserve regulations, a glossary of terms, and a list of additional publications.

This book contains essays presented at a conference held in November 2010 to mark the centenary of the famous 1910 Jekyll Island meeting of leading American financiers and the US Treasury. The 1910 meeting resulted in the Aldrich Plan, a precursor to the Federal Reserve Act that was enacted by Congress in 1913. The 2010 conference, sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and Rutgers University, featured assessments of the Fed's near 100-year track record by prominent economic historians and macroeconomists. The final chapter of the book records a panel discussion of Fed policy making by the current and former senior Federal Reserve officials.

One hundred years after its foundation, the Federal Reserve has been entrusted with an enormous expansion in its operating powers for the sake of reviving a sluggish economy during the financial crisis. The aim of the present volume is to present a thorough and fundamental analysis of the Fed in the recent past, as well as over the entire course of its history. In evaluating the origin, structure and performance of the Fed, the contributors to this volume critically apply the principles of Austrian monetary and business-cycle theory. It is argued that the Fed has done harm to the U.S. and increasingly, the global economy by committing two types of errors: theoretical errors stemming from an incorrect understanding of the optimal monetary system, and historical errors, found in episodes in which the Fed instigated an economic downturn or hindered a budding recovery. The book contains not only a critical analysis of the activities of the Fed over its history, but also a road map with directions for the future.

Controlling inflation is among the most important objectives of economic policy. By maintaining price stability, policy makers are able to reduce uncertainty, improve price-monitoring mechanisms, and facilitate more efficient planning and allocation of resources, thereby raising productivity. This volume focuses on understanding the causes of the Great Inflation of the 1970s and ’80s, which saw rising inflation in many nations, and which propelled interest rates across the developing world into the double digits. In the decades since, the immediate cause of the period’s rise in inflation has been the subject of considerable debate. Among the areas of contention are the role of monetary policy in driving inflation and the implications this had both for policy design and for evaluating the performance of those who set the policy. Here, contributors map monetary policy from the 1960s to the present, shedding light on the ways in which the lessons of the Great Inflation were absorbed and applied to today’s global and increasingly complex economic environment.

Essays from the 2010 centenary conference of the 1910 Jekyll Island meeting of American financiers and the US Treasury.

The Federal Reserve banking system was created in 1913 in an effort to bring coherence to nationwide banking practices and prevent crises like the financial panic of 1907. Since it began operating in 1914, the Federal Reserve has played a crucial role in determining American financial policy and practice. It is largely an entity unto itself, operating independently, rarely subject to the political machinations of Congress or the presidency. Yet few Americans know how it works, and even fewer know anything of its history. This history of the Federal Reserve begins by giving an overview of American banking practices before the Federal Reserve's formation. The events leading to the Reserve's creation, and its early trials and tribulations, are then documented. Subsequent chapters track the Federal Reserve's history: its role during times of financial and military crisis, its relationship to each presidential administration, and the Fed's evolution as its leadership has changed over the years. The history wraps up with the Alan Greenspan era, explaining major changes in the institution's operating procedures since the 1980s. An appendix lists all members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, from its formation until 2003.

When the 12 District Banks of the Federal Reserve System opened their doors for business on November 16, 1914, few observers could have foreseen the Fed's present role as a major, if not dominant, player in U. S. and world economic policymaking. After all, two previous attempts to create a central bank in this country had ended in failure. Moreover, much of the economic theory and institutional structure that have given rise to monetary policy's influence in recent years were not yet in place. Indeed, it would take the Fed more than 20 years to learn (by accident!) the power of open market operations. Clearly, the modern Federal Reserve System has found itself with powers and responsibilities that were not envisioned by its founders. These proceedings from a conference held at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis on October 19-20, 1989, examine U. S. monetary policy from a variety of perspectives: a historical review of how it has affected aggregate economic performance; a positive analysis of why the Federal Reserve has chosen particular policy strategies; a review of normative arguments about what the Fed should pursue as its policy objective; a critique of how the Fed's "output"-the flow of monetary services in the U. S. economy-is measured; and, finally, a debate over the Fed's ability to influence real economic activity by changing the nominal quantity of money in circulation.