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Inside the Fed: Monetary Policy and Its…
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Inside the Fed: Monetary Policy and Its Management, Martin through Greenspan to Bernanke (edition 2009)

by Stephen H. Axilrod

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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.… (more)
Member:MITPress
Title:Inside the Fed: Monetary Policy and Its Management, Martin through Greenspan to Bernanke
Authors:Stephen H. Axilrod
Info:The MIT Press (2009), Hardcover, 213 pages
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Inside the Fed: Monetary Policy and Its Management, Martin through Greenspan to Bernanke by Stephen H. Axilrod

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Between Intuition and Empiricism

If monetary policy does not result in irrational exuberance for you, then this book isn't for you. Stephen H. Axilrod, an insider who worked in the Federal Reserve under Burns through to Volker, provides valuable insight into the decision made and not made. Axilrod reflects both professionally and personally and is often quite candid in his assessments of the tenures from Martin all the way to Bernanke.

While Axilrod comments that the social and political context were crucial in shaping the often conservative decision-making of the Chairman, he does not sufficiently explain with enough detail in order for the average reader to fully comprehend the many variables at play. Otherwise, I felt that Axilrod did an admirable job explaining the complexity of monetary policy, its relationship to capital markets, and the many mechanisms the Fed uses to combat inflation and maintain employment.

Fundamental in understanding the many approaches each chairman brought to the job of running the Fed is the delicate balances, between intuition and empiricism, between the Harvard-school and the Chicago-school. In conjunction, combating inflation is itself a balancing act between the price of money and the supply of money.

As for dirt spilled. Axilrod is sympathetic towards Burns despite allowing inflationary pressures to climb at the end of his tenure because according to Axilrod he didn't think there was enough political will for Burns to take the measures necessary. Volcker is the hero of the story if there is one here, Axilrod himself takes credit for helping to shape the monetary policy that looked beyond the federal funds rate. Axilrod is most unflattering towards Greenspan, saying he inherited Volcker's legacy of low inflation, and helped to contribute to the 2007 credit crisis by allowing markets to over-leverage through an artificially low federal funds rate. Finally, Bernanke's legacy is open-ended given his short tenure, however Axilrod makes the comment that Bernanke was a reluctant intervenor who could have acted sooner to prevent the subprime mortgage crisis.

My final comment is that I did find the book dry at times, and this is coming from someone who enjoys economics which is saying something. Still, this is an important book and Axilrod's inside commentary is a welcomed contribution and therefore I do highly recommend the book. ( )
  bruchu | Aug 21, 2009 |
Its MIT press book, also available on MIT press ebooks portal on ipublishcentral http://mitpress-ebooks.mit.edu/product/inside-fed
  ipublishcentral | Aug 10, 2009 |
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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.

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