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Ben Bernanke's Fed: The Federal Reserve After Greenspan
Ben Bernanke's swearing in as Federal Reserve chairman in 2006 marked the end of Alan Greenspan's long, legendary career. To date, the new chair has garnered mixed reviews. Business economists see him as the best-qualified successor to Greenspan, while many traders and investors worry that he's too academic for the job. Meanwhile, many ordinary Americans do not even know who he is.
How will Bernanke's leadership affect the Fed's actions in the coming years? How will Bernanke build on Greenspan's success, but also put his own stamp on the Fed? What will all this imply for businesses and investors? In Ben Bernanke's Fed, Ethan Harris provides exceptional insights into these crucial issues.
As a leading "Fed watch" economist, Harris draws on Bernanke's academic research, his speeches as a governor of the Fed, and his first two years on the job to shed light
· How the Federal Reserve analyzes and manages the economy using a synthesis of classical and Keynesian theory
· Bernanke's strategies for fighting inflation
· The implications of the new chair's remarkably plain-spoken style
· How Bernanke has cultivated diverse viewpoints but still builds consensus within the Fed
Engaging and discerning, this book demystifies the man who has stepped into what many describe as the second most powerful job in America.
How will Bernanke's leadership affect the Fed's actions in the coming years? How will Bernanke build on Greenspan's success, but also put his own stamp on the Fed? What will all this imply for businesses and investors? In Ben Bernanke's Fed, Ethan Harris provides exceptional insights into these crucial issues.
As a leading "Fed watch" economist, Harris draws on Bernanke's academic research, his speeches as a governor of the Fed, and his first two years on the job to shed light
· How the Federal Reserve analyzes and manages the economy using a synthesis of classical and Keynesian theory
· Bernanke's strategies for fighting inflation
· The implications of the new chair's remarkably plain-spoken style
· How Bernanke has cultivated diverse viewpoints but still builds consensus within the Fed
Engaging and discerning, this book demystifies the man who has stepped into what many describe as the second most powerful job in America.
- GenresEconomics
237 pages, Hardcover
First published July 15, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 30, 2023
Enlightening, to say the least.
April 29, 2013
This book explains the limited tools and policy options that the Federal Reserve Board has to maintain a healthy US economy. It frames in clear language well known issues such as tightening the funds rate and the employment and inflation trade off. It also frames, in clear language, debates of which the public is not generally aware such as should the Fed identify bubbles or publically state a target inflation rate.
The style and legend of Alan Greenspan hovers over his successor. Ben Bernanke comes to the Fed with an academic background and speeches on record that hint of his leanings on the issues. Harris, a professional Fed watcher describes how he has dealt with some early issues and the just and unjust criticism that surrounds them.
While the book never promises more, I was hoping for more. What about the other work of the Fed? How does the banking operation work? Where does the Fed get its money? How does it make its loans? How does it expand and contract the money supply? What it the bank's relationship to other monetary arms of the government?
The book does what it sets out to do and the writer is refreshingly clear. He chooses simple English and avoids the convoluted turns of phrase that haunt his dismal science. The charts are excellent and are precisely placed (no need to flip pages). For this reason, I give Harris 5 stars for his book and hope he writes another on the other aspects of the Fed.
UPDATE: May 11 2010. In my review, I mentioned other Fed activities that I would have liked to have seen addressed. I should have questioned why they were not addressed as well. It now appears that they were not addressed because the author didn't know about them and had to limit his book to the known work of the Fed. It is also becoming clear that the other activities are VERY large. Today, the Senate voted to audit the Fed. Up until this issue came to light, I had just assumed it was audited like every other business, institution and government agency in this country. I had no idea that the book I propose could not have been written because no one, then or to this date, knows about the other work of the Fed.
The style and legend of Alan Greenspan hovers over his successor. Ben Bernanke comes to the Fed with an academic background and speeches on record that hint of his leanings on the issues. Harris, a professional Fed watcher describes how he has dealt with some early issues and the just and unjust criticism that surrounds them.
While the book never promises more, I was hoping for more. What about the other work of the Fed? How does the banking operation work? Where does the Fed get its money? How does it make its loans? How does it expand and contract the money supply? What it the bank's relationship to other monetary arms of the government?
The book does what it sets out to do and the writer is refreshingly clear. He chooses simple English and avoids the convoluted turns of phrase that haunt his dismal science. The charts are excellent and are precisely placed (no need to flip pages). For this reason, I give Harris 5 stars for his book and hope he writes another on the other aspects of the Fed.
UPDATE: May 11 2010. In my review, I mentioned other Fed activities that I would have liked to have seen addressed. I should have questioned why they were not addressed as well. It now appears that they were not addressed because the author didn't know about them and had to limit his book to the known work of the Fed. It is also becoming clear that the other activities are VERY large. Today, the Senate voted to audit the Fed. Up until this issue came to light, I had just assumed it was audited like every other business, institution and government agency in this country. I had no idea that the book I propose could not have been written because no one, then or to this date, knows about the other work of the Fed.
January 16, 2013
ISBN 142212584X - The Fed seems to only become interesting to mainstream America when the country is in financial distress. That might explain why so many books on the topic are drier than week old turkey dinner. And that, really, is the single place where this book rises above the others - it is very readable for non-monetary-policy-geeks.
The book covers some history of the Fed, and some of the workings of it. It includes some info about inflation, unemployment and other influencing factors and how they work on the economy. It includes, basically, what you expect from a book about the Fed. No surprises.
The bias is obviously pro-Fed - the author worked for the Fed and holds it in some regard. On the negative side, I don't think there's a lot new here, which is weird. Despite the title, Greenspan seems to dominate. This might be because there's not a lot of difference between Bernanke and Greenspan, but that really doesn't change the fact that I feel a wee bit misled by the title.
If you're looking for an easy-to-read "how did we get here?" book, this isn't it. If you come into this with an understanding of the economy, you can follow the bread crumbs in these pages - but then, you're not likely to be one who needs those bread crumbs. If you're seeking Ben Bernanke... he's not really here. Considering the time that the book was written (Obama was not yet president, the country was not yet aware of our recession, etc), it might just be a little early for this title, leaving me wondering if the point was to be the first, not the best.
Still, readable and likely to offer insight for those readers who find that their brains shut down during conversation and news stories about the economy and the Fed. As the economy is probably going to be a headline story for some time to come, this might be just the thing to start with to get you up to speed.
- AnnaLovesBooks
The book covers some history of the Fed, and some of the workings of it. It includes some info about inflation, unemployment and other influencing factors and how they work on the economy. It includes, basically, what you expect from a book about the Fed. No surprises.
The bias is obviously pro-Fed - the author worked for the Fed and holds it in some regard. On the negative side, I don't think there's a lot new here, which is weird. Despite the title, Greenspan seems to dominate. This might be because there's not a lot of difference between Bernanke and Greenspan, but that really doesn't change the fact that I feel a wee bit misled by the title.
If you're looking for an easy-to-read "how did we get here?" book, this isn't it. If you come into this with an understanding of the economy, you can follow the bread crumbs in these pages - but then, you're not likely to be one who needs those bread crumbs. If you're seeking Ben Bernanke... he's not really here. Considering the time that the book was written (Obama was not yet president, the country was not yet aware of our recession, etc), it might just be a little early for this title, leaving me wondering if the point was to be the first, not the best.
Still, readable and likely to offer insight for those readers who find that their brains shut down during conversation and news stories about the economy and the Fed. As the economy is probably going to be a headline story for some time to come, this might be just the thing to start with to get you up to speed.
- AnnaLovesBooks
July 3, 2009
Any book that deals with topical issues has one great risk--events taking place that were not fully contemplated by the author. This book focuses on Ben Bernanke as Chair of the Federal Reserve (otherwise known as the Fed). The book went to press in mid-2008, before the full meltdown of the housing market, the credit freeze, and so on, even though it was clear by that time that there were some problems facing the economy.
One strength of this book is humanizing Bernanke and even his predecessor, Alan Greenspan. The book gives us a sense of Bernanke's views of the economy, based on his academic writing. Yes, academics can have practical impacts on the world!
The book does a nice job of giving an accessible account of the Fed. Praise to the author, Ethan Harris, for trying to describe the world of macroeconomics, in Chapter 2. Part II of the book looks at the work of Greenspan as Chair of the Fed. Part III considers Bernanke's views--including both similarities and differences with Greenspan. Part IV provides a preliminary report card, grading Bernanke out as a B, with A for actions and C for his communication style.
One key point of the book is speculating as to how Bernanke would handle problems in the future.
Overall, this is accessible (perhaps even oversimplistic at points) to a wider readership. If one is interested in Ben Bernanke, this would serve a useful purpose. Again, the book is bedeviled by timing--it came out before the economy began jetting south.
One strength of this book is humanizing Bernanke and even his predecessor, Alan Greenspan. The book gives us a sense of Bernanke's views of the economy, based on his academic writing. Yes, academics can have practical impacts on the world!
The book does a nice job of giving an accessible account of the Fed. Praise to the author, Ethan Harris, for trying to describe the world of macroeconomics, in Chapter 2. Part II of the book looks at the work of Greenspan as Chair of the Fed. Part III considers Bernanke's views--including both similarities and differences with Greenspan. Part IV provides a preliminary report card, grading Bernanke out as a B, with A for actions and C for his communication style.
One key point of the book is speculating as to how Bernanke would handle problems in the future.
Overall, this is accessible (perhaps even oversimplistic at points) to a wider readership. If one is interested in Ben Bernanke, this would serve a useful purpose. Again, the book is bedeviled by timing--it came out before the economy began jetting south.
March 17, 2009
An excellent and interesting read about the Fed.
I learned some good things about the Fed reading this. Like many other books on econ, it is a little dry cause they keep reviewing statistics.
Its a worthwhile read, but I'll have to read it again to jog my memory about some key behavioral characteristics of the economy.
I learned some good things about the Fed reading this. Like many other books on econ, it is a little dry cause they keep reviewing statistics.
Its a worthwhile read, but I'll have to read it again to jog my memory about some key behavioral characteristics of the economy.
October 9, 2008
Good view of current views of Ben Bernanke. Written in early 2008, shows his policies on tackling deflation and recession early and aggressively.
November 13, 2008
This is really a textbook on the Federal Reserve from the Greenspan era up until today.
January 17, 2016
Good read!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews