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Central Banks, Global Shocks, and Local Crises: Lessons from the Atlanta Fed's Response to the 1920–21 Recession

Author

Listed:
  • William Roberds
  • Eugene White

Abstract

During late 1920, the president (then called "governor") and board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta were confronted with an unexpected, devastating collapse in the price of a commodity whose global production was concentrated in their district—cotton. Their judgment was that the fall in cotton prices was temporary and that its effects could be lessened with generous credit policies that did not conflict with the Federal Reserve Act. Other officials within the Federal Reserve System did not agree with this judgment, however, leading to a contentious policy debate and an eventual rollback of the Bank's policy accommodation.

Suggested Citation

  • William Roberds & Eugene White, 2020. "Central Banks, Global Shocks, and Local Crises: Lessons from the Atlanta Fed's Response to the 1920–21 Recession," Policy Hub, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, vol. 2020(15), pages 1-35, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:a00068:99116
    DOI: 10.29338/ph2020-15
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eugene N. White, 2015. "Protecting Financial Stability in the Aftermath of World War I: The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Dissenting Policy," NBER Working Papers 21341, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Eichengreen, Barry, 1996. "Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression, 1919-1939," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195101133.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Federal Reserve; emergency lending; Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • N12 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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