Ben Bernanke's Fed : the Federal Reserve after Greenspan / Ethan S. Harris.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harris, Ethan S.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bernanke, Ben.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).

Banks and banking, Central--United States.

Banks and banking, Central.

United States.

Monetary policy--United States.

Monetary policy.

Physical Description:

viii, 237 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Boston, Mass. : Harvard Business Press, [2008]

Summary:

The Federal Reserve chairmanship is often described as the second most powerful job in America. When Ben Bernanke was confirmed in 2006, many traders and investors were skeptical. Could anyone really replace Alan Greenspan?

Even in the best of times, Bernanke would have faced a tough balancing act. On one hand, he wanted to demonstrate continuity with his legendary predecessor, and he could certainly learn from Greenspan as both an economist and a policy maker. Moreover, the public was not looking for change. Senator John McCain even joked on the campaign trail that, if Greenspan were to expire during a McCain presidency, McCain would put sunglasses on the corpse and prop it up in a chair, as in the movie Weekend at Bernie's. On the other hand, Bernanke needed to establish his own identity.

But he stepped into the legend's job during a challenging period. Central bankers want the economy to grow fast enough-but not too fast-to achieve high employment without sparking inflation, and the Fed was attempting as much when Bernanke took over. Central banking is a crude science, and managing such growth requires both luck and skill. Despite his maestro reputation, Greenspan had allowed both the overall economy and the housing market to run too hot in his last two years as chair. His slow, "measured" interest-rate hikes, designed to avoid shocking the economy, failed to impose enough restraint. Consequently, Bernanke inherited a bubble in the housing market and an inflation problem. The economy was overheating.

Furthermore, a year and a half into Bernanke's chairmanship, a Wall Street Journal poll pegged him with only a 12 percent approval rating-and a 7 percent disapproval rating. How does that work? Remarkably, 67 percent of respondents did not know who Bernanke was-even though he was "the second most powerful" person in the country.

Contents:

It's all about the Benjamin

How the world works

Secrets of the temple

Declaration of independence

Blowing smoke

Greenspan : an enviable record

Greenspan : to err is human

Constrained discretion

Depression obsession

Glasnost

Zen and the art of monetary maintenance

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

Radical risk management

Murphy's law

Pressure cooker.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-227) and index.

ISBN:

9781422125847

142212584X

OCLC:

191924288