Central Bank Governance and Oversight Reform

by John Cochrane (Editor), John B. Taylor (Editor)

Overview

A central bank needs authority and a sphere of independent action. But a central bank cannot become an unelected czar with sweeping, unaccountable discretionary power. How can we balance the central bank’s authority and independence with needed accountability and constraints? Drawn from a 2015 Hoover Institution conference, this book features distinguished scholars and policy makers’ discussing this and other key questions about the Fed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780817919245
Publisher:	Hoover Institution Press
Publication date:	05/01/2016
Edition description:	None
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

John H. Cochrane is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is also a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and an adjunct scholar of the CATO Institute. John B. Taylor is the George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Economics at the Hoover Institution and the Mary and Robert Raymond Professor of Economics at Stanford University. He chairs the Hoover Working Group on Economic Policy and is director of Stanford’s Introductory Economics Center.

Table of Contents

Preface John H. Cochrane John B. Taylor vii

1 How Can Central Banks Deliver Credible Commitment and Be "Emergency Institutions"? Paul Tucker 1

Comments John H. Cochrane

General Discussion Michael D. Bordo John H. Cochrane Peter Fisher Robert Hodrick Charles I. Plosser George P. Shultz John B. Taylor Paul Tucker Kevin M. Warsh

2 Policy Rule Legislation in Practice David H. Papell Alex Nikolsko-Rzhevskyy Ruxandra Prodan 55

Comments Michael Dotsey

General Discussion John H. Cochrane Michael Dotsey Peter Fisher Andrew Levin David H. Papell Charle I. Plosser John B. Taylor Paul Tucker Carl E. Walsh John C. Williams

3 Goals versus Rules as Central Bank Performance Measures Carl E. Walsh 109

Comments Andrew Levin

General Discussion John H. Cochrane Michael Dotsey David H. Papell John B. Taylor Carl E. Walsh John C. Williams

4 Institutional Design: Deliberations, Decisions, and Committee Dynamics Kevin M. Warsh 173

Comments Peter Fisher

General Discussion Binyamin Appelbaum Michael D. Bordo John H. Cochrane Michael Dotsey Peter Fisher Andrew Levin Charles I. Plosser George P. Shultz Paul Tucker Kevin M. Warsh John C. Williams

5 Some Historical Reflections on the Governance of the Federal Reserve Michael D. Bordo 221

Comments Mary H. Karr

General Discussion Michael D. Bordo John H. Cochrane Peter Fisher Mary H. Karr Andrew Levin Charles I. Plosser George P. Shultz John B. Taylor Paul Tucker Kevin M. Warsh John C. Williams

6 Panel on Independence, Accountability, and Transparency in Central Bank Governance Charles I. Plosser George P. Shultz John C. Williams 255

General Discussion Michael J. Boskin John H. Cochrane Peter Fisher Robert Hodrick Andrew Levin David Papell Charles I. Plosser John B. Taylor Paul Tucker Kevin M. Warsh John C. Williams

Conference Agenda 297

About the Contributors 299

About the Hoover Institution's Working Group on Economic Policy 305

Index 309