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Ben Bernanke and Bagehot's Rules

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  • THOMAS L. HOGAN
  • LINH LE
  • ALEXANDER WILLIAM SALTER

Abstract

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has claimed that the Fed's bank bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis were consistent with Walter Bagehot's rules for a lender of last resort. This paper demonstrates Bernanke's claims to be mistaken. First, we outline Bagehot's doctrine for a classical lender of last resort. Next, we discuss Bernanke's theory of bank bailouts and his statements regarding the Fed's role in the 2008 bank bailouts. Finally, we examine the bailouts and demonstrate that, contrary to Bernanke's claims, the Fed's actions were not consistent with Bagehot's rules for a lender of last resort.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas L. Hogan & Linh Le & Alexander William Salter, 2015. "Ben Bernanke and Bagehot's Rules," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(2-3), pages 333-348, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jmoncb:v:47:y:2015:i:2-3:p:333-348
    DOI: 10.1111/jmcb.12178
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    2. Peter J. Boettke & Alexander W. Salter & Daniel J. Smith, 2018. "Money as meta-rule: Buchanan’s constitutional economics as a foundation for monetary stability," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 176(3), pages 529-555, September.
    3. Laurent Le Maux, 2021. "Bagehot for Central Bankers," Working Papers hal-03201509, HAL.
    4. Louis Rouanet & Peter Hazlett, 2023. "The redistributive politics of monetary policy," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 194(1), pages 1-26, January.
    5. Christian Pfister, Natacha Valla, 2018. "‘New Normal’ or ‘New Orthodoxy’? Elements of a Central Banking Framework for the After-Crisis," Working papers 680, Banque de France.
    6. David J. Hebert, 2017. "Pascal Salin, competition, coordination and diversity: From the firm to economic integration," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 30(1), pages 143-146, March.
    7. Salter, Alexander W. & Smith, Daniel J., 2019. "Political economists or political economists? The role of political environments in the formation of fed policy under burns, Greenspan, and Bernanke," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 1-13.
    8. Cukierman, Alex, 2019. "A retrospective on the subprime crisis and its aftermath ten years after Lehman’s collapse," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 43(3).
    9. Thomas L. Hogan, Daniel J. Smith, Robin Aguiar-Hicks, 2018. "Central Banking without Romance," European Journal of Comparative Economics, Cattaneo University (LIUC), vol. 15(2), pages 293-314, December.
    10. Paul D. Mueller & Joshua Wojnilower, 2016. "The Federal Reserve's Floor System: Immediate Gain for Remote Pain?," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 31(Summer 20), pages 15-40.
    11. Salter, Alexander William & Tarko, Vlad, 2017. "Polycentric banking and macroeconomic stability," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 365-395, June.
    12. Emmanuel Carré & Laurent Le Maux, 2018. "Globalisation financière et Dollar Swap Lines : la Réserve fédérale et la Banque centrale européenne durant la crise de 2007-2009," Working Papers hal-01933930, HAL.
    13. Hogan, Thomas L., 2021. "Bank lending and interest on excess reserves: An empirical investigation," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    14. William J. Luther, 2021. "Two paths forward for Austrian macroeconomics," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 34(2), pages 289-297, June.
    15. Daniel J. Smith, 2023. "Austrian economics as a relevant research program," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 36(4), pages 501-514, December.
    16. Emmanuel Carré & Laurent Le Maux, 2018. "The Federal Reserve's Dollar Swap Lines and the European Central Bank during the global financial crisis of 2007-2009," Post-Print hal-02570211, HAL.
    17. Nicolás Cachanosky & Alexander W. Salter, 2020. "The super-alertness of central banks," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 33(1), pages 187-200, March.
    18. Alexander W. Salter & William J. Luther, 2019. "Adaptation and central banking," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 180(3), pages 243-256, September.
    19. Skylar Brooks, 2024. "Central Bank Liquidity Policy in Modern Times," Discussion Papers 2024-06, Bank of Canada.
    20. Cukierman, Alex, 2018. "A retrospective on the subprime crisis and its aftermath ten years after Lehman’s collapse," CEPR Discussion Papers 13373, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    21. George Selgin, 2014. "Operation Twist-the-Truth: How the Federal Reserve Misrepresents Its History and Performance," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 34(2), pages 229-263, Spring/Su.

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