The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve

Peter Conti-Brown (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

368 Seiten

2016
Princeton University Press (Verlag)
978-0-691-16400-7 (ISBN)

Infos

The independence of the Federal Reserve is considered a cornerstone of its identity, crucial for keeping monetary policy decisions free of electoral politics. But do we really understand what is meant by "Federal Reserve independence"? Using scores of examples from the Fed's rich history, The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve shows that much common wisdom about the nation's central bank is inaccurate. Legal scholar and financial historian Peter Conti-Brown provides an in-depth look at the Fed's place in government, its internal governance structure, and its relationships to such individuals and groups as the president, Congress, economists, and bankers. Exploring how the Fed regulates the global economy and handles its own internal politics, and how the law does--and does not--define the Fed's power, Conti-Brown captures and clarifies the central bank's defining complexities. He examines the foundations of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, which established a system of central banks, and the ways that subsequent generations have redefined the organization.
Challenging the notion that the Fed Chair controls the organization as an all-powerful technocrat, he explains how institutions and individuals--within and outside of government--shape Fed policy. Conti-Brown demonstrates that the evolving mission of the Fed--including systemic risk regulation, wider bank supervision, and as a guardian against inflation and deflation--requires a reevaluation of the very way the nation's central bank is structured. Investigating how the Fed influences and is influenced by ideologies, personalities, law, and history, The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve offers a clear picture of this uniquely important institution.

Autor

Peter Conti-Brown is assistant professor of legal studies and business ethics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is the coeditor of When States Go Broke and Research Handbook on Central Banking.

Inhalt

PREFACE ix INTRODUCTION: ULYSSES AND THE CHAPERONE 1 PART I. The Federal Reserve Is a "They," Not an "It" 13 CHAPTER 1 The Three Foundings of the Federal Reserve 15 CHAPTER 2 Leadership and Institutional Change: From Periphery to Power 40 CHAPTER 3 Central Banking by Committee: The Authority of the Fed's Board of Governors 69 CHAPTER 4 The "Double Government" of the Federal Reserve: The Economists and the Lawyers 84 CHAPTER 5 The Vestigial and Unconstitutional Federal Reserve Banks 103 PART II. The Five Hundred Hats of the Federal Reserve 127 CHAPTER 6 Practicing Monetary Policy: The Rise and Fall of the Chaperone 129 CHAPTER 7 The Once and Future Federal Reserve: The Fed's Banking Functions 149 PART III. The Sirens of the Federal Reserve 177 CHAPTER 8 The President and the Federal Reserve: The Limits of Law and the Power of Relationships 179 CHAPTER 9 Congress and the Fed: The Curious Case of the Fed's Budgetary Autonomy 199 CHAPTER 10 Club Fed: The Communities of the Federal Reserve 218 PART IV. The Democratic Demands of Fed Governance: Reforming the Fed by Choosing the Chaperone 237 CHAPTER 11 Proposals 239 CONCLUSION: THE FREEMASONS AND THE FEDERAL RESERVE 267 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 271 NOTES 277 BIBLIOGRAPHY 313 INDEX 341

Produkt-Details

• Verlagsort: New Jersey
• Sprache: englisch
• Maße: 152 x 235 mm
• Gewicht: 624 g
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Wirtschaftsgeschichte
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Staat / Verwaltung
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Finanzierung
• Themenwelt: Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Spezielle Betriebswirtschaftslehre ► Bankbetriebslehre
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft ► Volkswirtschaftslehre ► Wirtschaftspolitik
• ISBN-10: 0-691-16400-2 / 0691164002
• ISBN-13: 978-0-691-16400-7 / 9780691164007
• Zustand: Neuware