Inside the Fed: Monetary Policy and Its Management, Martin Through Greenspan to Bernanke

Stephen H. Axilrod

ISBN 10: 0262012499 / ISBN 13: 9780262012492

Editore: MIT Press, 2008

Leichte Rillen / Abschürfungen / Risse / Knicke. Stephen Axilrod, a veteran of over thirty years at the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, provides a unique insider perspective on the Federal Reserve System's evolution over the last fifty years. His insights are drawn from personal experiences with every Fed chairman since 1951, blending discussions of personalities with policy analysis. Axilrod examines how the distinct characteristics of various chairmen influenced their leadership abilities. For instance, he recounts Arthur Burns's struggles with political pressure from the Nixon administration and Paul Volcker's decisive pivot to anti-inflationary measures at the end of the 1970s, a shift in which Axilrod was instrumental. He also critiques the Greenspan era, highlighting the unintended consequences of increased communication from the Fed, particularly after Greenspan's infamous "irrational exuberance" remark in 1996, which damaged the Fed's credibility. Furthermore, Axilrod discusses the challenges, including the subprime crisis, that Ben Bernanke faced as he took over from Greenspan. He argues that effective leadership in monetary policy stems not just from economic expertise but also from the ability to navigate political and social obstacles to implement significant policy changes, requiring both courage and bureaucratic skill. Codice articolo fc8af561-423a-4a72-b2ab-32b0ef404a8e

Riassunto:

Stephen Axilrod is the ultimate Federal Reserve insider. He worked at the Fed's Board of Governors for over thirty years and after that in private markets and as a consultant on monetary policy. With Inside the Fed, he offers his unique perspective on the inner workings of the Federal Reserve System during the last fifty years—writing about personalities as much as policy—based on his knowledge and observations of every Fed chairman since 1951.

Axilrod's discussion focuses on how the personalities of the various chairmen affected their capacity for leadership. He describes, for example, Arthur Burns's response to political pressure from the Nixon White House and Paul Volcker's radical shift to an anti-inflationary policy at the end of the 1970s—a transition in which Axilrod himself played a crucial role. As for the Greenspan years, Axilrod points to the unintended effects of the Fed's newfound "garrulousness" (the plethora of announcements and hints about policy intentions)—one of which was the Fed's loss of credibility in the aftermath of the chairman's 1996 comment about "irrational exuberance." And Axilrod incisively outlines the problems—including the subprime mess—inherited from Greenspan by the current chairman, Ben Bernanke. Great leadership in monetary policy, Axilrod says, is determined not by pure economic sophistication but by the ability to push through political and social barriers to achieve a paradigm shift in policy—and by the courage and bureaucratic moxie to pull it off.

Informazioni sull?autore:

Stephen H. Axilrod worked from 1952 to 1986 at the Board ofGovernors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C., rising to StaffDirector for Monetary and Financial Policy and Staff Director and Secretary ofthe Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed’s main monetary policy arm.Since 1986 he has worked in private markets and as a consultant on monetarypolicy with foreign monetary authorities.

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Titolo: Inside the Fed: Monetary Policy and Its ...
Casa editrice: MIT Press
Data di pubblicazione: 2008
Legatura: Hardcover
Condizione: Fine