Bøger i Studies in Macroeconomic History serien

Since publication of Hetzel's The Monetary Policy of the Federal Reserve (Cambridge University Press, 2008), the intellectual consensus that had characterized macroeconomics has disappeared. That consensus emphasized efficient markets, rational expectations and the efficacy of the price system in assuring macroeconomic stability. The 2008-9 recession not only destroyed the professional consensus about the kinds of models required to understand cyclical fluctuations but also revived the credit-cycle or asset-bubble explanations of recession that dominated thinking in the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. These 'market-disorder' views emphasize excessive risk taking in financial markets and the need for government regulation. The present book argues for the alternative 'monetary-disorder' view of recessions. A review of cyclical instability over the last two centuries places the 2008-9 recession in the monetary-disorder tradition, which focuses on the monetary instability created by central banks rather than on a boom-bust cycle in financial markets.

In these six lectures given at the Norwegian Royal Academy of Science and Letters, Jan Qvigstad draws on his deep experience at Norges Bank to outline key principles on which to base central bank policy. The first two lectures (Keeping promises and Transparency) emphasize the importance of credibility and ensuring accountability. Lectures 3-6 can be viewed as applying these key principles to specific issues (Making good decisions; Managing wealth; Learning from history; and Institutions). The lectures do not break new ground - indeed, Qvigstad nicely illustrates how these principles have been articulated in literature, history and politics. Rather, the lectures emphasize the lessons to be drawn by applying these principles to central banking history with primary reference to the case of Norway, such as managing Norway's sovereign wealth fund and designing institutions that will produce good policy outcomes.

This history of the Bank of England takes its story from the 1950s to the end of the 1970s. This period probably saw the peak of the Bank's influence and prestige, as it dominated the financial landscape. One of the Bank's central functions was to manage the exchange rate. It was also responsible for administering all the controls that made up monetary policy. In the first part of the period, the Bank did all this with a remarkable degree of freedom. But economic policy was a failure, and sluggish output, banking instability and rampant inflation characterised the 1970s. The pegged exchange rate was discontinued, and the Bank's freedom of movement was severely constrained, as new approaches to policy were devised and implemented. The Bank lost much of its freedom of movement but also took on more formal supervision.

Most European countries are rather small, yet we know little about their monetary history. This book analyses for the first time the experience of seven small states (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland) during the last hundred years, starting with the restoration of the gold standard after World War I and ending with Sweden's rejection of the Euro in 2003. The comparative analysis shows that for the most part of the twentieth century the options of policy makers were seriously constrained by a distinct fear of floating exchange rates. Only with the crisis of the European Monetary System (EMS) in 1992-3 did the idea that a flexible exchange rate regime was suited for a small open economy gain currency. The book also analyses the differences among small states and concludes that economic structures or foreign policy orientations were far more important for the timing of regime changes than domestic institutions and policies.

Details the evolution of the monetary standard from the start of the Federal Reserve through the end of the Greenspan era. The book places that evolution in the context of the intellectual and political environment of the time. By understanding the fitful process of replacing a gold standard with a paper money standard, the conduct of monetary policy becomes a series of experiments useful for understanding the fundamental issues concerning money and prices. How did the recurrent monetary instability of the 20th century relate to the economic instability and to the associated political and social turbulence? After the detour in policy represented by FOMC chairmen Arthur Burns and G. William Miller, Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan established the monetary standard originally foreshadowed by William McChesney Martin, who became chairman in 1951. The Monetary Policy of the Federal Reserve explains in a straightforward way the emergence and nature of the modern, inflation-targeting central bank.

Independent scholars from disciplines including economics, history, political science, and law, explain the Bank for International Settlements, the global organisation of central banks. They shed light on how, over the past half century, the BIS has influenced and helped shape the international monetary and financial system.

Based on a conference held as part of the US Federal Reserve System's centennial, this book critically evaluates the role of the Federal Reserve System in the international monetary system over the past one hundred years and looks ahead to the challenges it will face under the twenty-first-century fiat standard.

The role of the central bank has become a subject of intense debate in the wake of the recent global financial crisis. In this volume, experts and policy makers discuss what lessons we can draw by examining the evolution of the central bank over the past two centuries.

This book examines the finance-growth nexus from historical and modern perspectives. It will be of interest to academics interested in economic and financial history as well as those interested in the recent financial crisis and its historical antecedents.

Offers a comprehensive analysis of the historical experiences of monetary policymaking of the world's largest central banks. Written in celebration of the 350th anniversary of the central bank of Sweden, Sveriges Riksbank. Includes chapters on other banks around the world written by leading economic scholars.

This book will interest scholars and practitioners in economics, finance, accounting and law; all areas in which the Lehman bankruptcy has been a major controversy. It will also appeal to a broad audience who care about the causes of the financial crisis and the role of the Federal Reserve's leaders.

Based on a conference held as part of the US Federal Reserve System's centennial, this book critically evaluates the role of the Federal Reserve System in the international monetary system over the past one hundred years and looks ahead to the challenges it will face under the twenty-first-century fiat standard.

The role of the central bank has become a subject of intense debate in the wake of the recent global financial crisis. In this volume, experts and policy makers discuss what lessons we can draw by examining the evolution of the central bank over the past two centuries.

Between 1914 and the present several monetary regimes gradually moved away from the gold standard, with varying success in maintaining price stability and credibility. This book presents ten studies which combine historical narrative with econometrics to analyze the role of credibility in four monetary regimes.

This book contains essays presented at the November 2010 conference held to mark the centenary of the famous 1910 Jekyll Island meeting of leading American financiers and the US Treasury. The final chapter records a panel discussion of Fed policy making by the current and former senior Federal Reserve officials.

Could deflation be worse than inflation? This 2004 collection explores how individuals and policymakers have responded to the phenomenon. Monetary and exchange rate regimes as well as stock market reactions are considered as an important influence upon deflationary trends. The book's coverage ranges from the nineteenth century onwards.

To celebrate the Federal Reserve System's centennial, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland asked leading monetary historians and macroeconomic economists to address current and recurring economic concerns that confront central banks. The resulting papers cover a wide range of issues and investigate how financial infrastructure shapes economic outcomes.

Between 1914 and the present several monetary regimes gradually moved away from the gold standard, with varying success in maintaining price stability and credibility. This book presents ten studies which combine historical narrative with econometrics to analyze the role of credibility in four monetary regimes.

This book looks back at the historical experience of central bank cooperation in the western world since the late nineteenth century. It provides a systematic analysis of the nature and characteristics of this form of co-operation and offers a global perspective on what its future might look like.

Could deflation be worse than inflation? This 2004 collection explores how individuals and policymakers have responded to the phenomenon. Monetary and exchange rate regimes as well as stock market reactions are considered as an important influence upon deflationary trends. The book's coverage ranges from the nineteenth century onwards.

During the 1950s and 1960s, research on the prewar British economy was influenced strongly by ideas from Keynesian macroeconomics. It is important to reexamine this period of history, asking to what extent the Keynesian vision offers useful insights into advances in time series analysis as well as developments in macroeconomics to answer this question.

This book examines the finance-growth nexus from historical and modern perspectives. It will be of interest to academics interested in economic and financial history as well as those interested in the recent financial crisis and its historical antecedents.

This book looks back at the historical experience of central bank cooperation in the western world since the late nineteenth century. It provides a systematic analysis of the nature and characteristics of this form of co-operation and offers a global perspective on what its future might look like.

This book reassesses Western Europe's miraculous economic recovery from World War II, exposing the role of international institutions and contrasting the very different national experiences. It will be of interest to students of modern European history and to economists.

This book investigates US-UK monetary relations, 1791 to 1931. It presents and examines data on the exchange rate with emphasis on the institutional and legal aspects. It will serve as a Dollar-Sterling handbook for those interested in this important aspect of international monetary history.

These articles by eminent economic historians from the five European colonial powers and from six New World countries focus on the legacy of the Old World fiscal institutions (taxes and expenditures) and monetary institutions (currency and banking) for the New World from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries.

During the 1950s and 1960s, research on the prewar British economy was influenced strongly by ideas from Keynesian macroeconomics. It is important to reexamine this period of history, asking to what extent the Keynesian vision offers useful insights into advances in time series analysis as well as developments in macroeconomics to answer this question.

This book reassesses Western Europe's miraculous economic recovery from World War II, exposing the role of international institutions and contrasting the very different national experiences. It will be of interest to students of modern European history and to economists.

These articles by eminent economic historians from the five European colonial powers and from six New World countries focus on the legacy of the Old World fiscal institutions (taxes and expenditures) and monetary institutions (currency and banking) for the New World from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries.

This volume provides a new interpretation of the operation and macroeconomic repercussions of the international monetary system during the interwar years. Each of the eleven essays is explicitly concerned with the role of exchange rates in macroeconomic fluctuations from the American and European perspective. The final essay examines the interwar experience from a long-term perspective.