Ben Bernanke's Fed: The Federal Reserve After Greenspan

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Ben Bernanke's Fed: The Federal Reserve After Greenspan Pub. Date: 8/11/2008 Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press

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Overview

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. Howdoes 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.

Editorial Reviews

Boston Globe

...an excellent description of what the Fed does and why we need it. He takes a fresh look at Greenspan and provides solid analysis of Bernanke's record as a scholar and policy maker.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781422125847
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
Publication date: 8/11/2008
Pages: 237
Sales rank: 727,658
Product dimensions: 6.30 (w) x 9.20 (h) x 1.00 (d)

Meet the Author

Ethan S. Harris is a member of Lehman Brothers' Global Economics team. A U.S. chief economist, he started his career at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, joining Lehman Brothers in 1996.

Acknowledgments     vii
It's All About the Benjamin: An Early Look at the New Fed Chairman     1
Bernanke's Backdrop: The Federal Reserve's Role in the Economy
How the World Works: A Brief Course in Macroeconomics     13
Secrets of the Temple: Demystifying the Fed     27
Declaration of Independence: The Political Economy of Central Banking     37
Blowing Smoke: The Fed's Evolving Communication Strategy     51
Bernanke's Benchmark: The Shadow of Alan Greenspan
Greenspan, an Enviable Record: Greenspan's Successes as Fed Chairman     61
Greenspan, to Err Is Human: The Downside of Greenspan's Chairmanship     73
Bernanke's Beliefs: How Bernanke's Life Work Shapes His Policies
Constrained Discretion: Bernanke's Quest for an Inflation Target     95
Depression Obsession: How the Great Depression Informs Bernanke's Thinking     113
Glasnost: Democracy Comes to the Fed     127
Zen and the Art of Monetary Maintenance: The Fed's New Communication Style     141
See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil: The Policy Response to an Asset Market Bubble     147
Radical Risk Management: A New Policy Focus for the Fed     159
Bernanke's Beginning: The Early Report Card
Murphy's Law: New Fed Chairmen Always Seem to Face a Tough Environment     167
Pressure Cooker: Bernanke'sPerformance in His First Two Years     181
Conclusion: Can He Walk the Walk?, The Outlook for the Bernanke Fed     203
Notes     211
Index     229
About the author     237

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Anonymous

Posted August 15, 2008

Must Read for Economics Students and Practitioners

Ethan Harris's book on Ben Bernanke and the Fed is a MUST read for any economics students interested in an inside look at Fed policy and Bernanke's administration. It has one of the best, easy-to-understand explanations of how Federal Reserve policy really works. i highly recommend this book as a supplement to any assigned economics textbook. It is also a tremendous help to faculty members trying to explain recent Federal Reserve bank policies and economic events to their students.

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