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Fed Power: How Finance Wins

Author

Listed:
  • Jacobs, Lawrence

    (University of Minnesota)

  • King, Desmond

    (Oxford University)

Abstract

The Federal Reserve is the most powerful central bank in the world. Without its central bank, the American economy would be subject to devastating fluctuations and instability. In maintaining this stability, The Fed dictates interest rates and designs bailouts without the usual checks and balances that pervade US policy making. Most commentators treat the Fed as an impartial referee exercising its independence to advance the best interests of America. Wrong. Lawrence Jacobs and Desmond King's Fed Power is the first sustained examination of the Fed as a potent institution in its own right and an engine for producing concealed advantages for a privileged few. The authors trace the Fed's historic development from the fiery tug-of-war over monetary policy during the 19th century to its current position as a powerful cog in the "big government" machine with unparalleled capacity and autonomy to intervene in private markets. Jacobs and King dissect how the Fed's programs during the Great Recession funneled enormous sums to a select few in the finance industry while leaving Main Street businesses adrift and millions of homeowners underwater. Far from serving the national interest, the Fed increased economic inequality in America and further enriched the "one percent." America is heading into the next financial crisis without an effective central bank. 'End the Fed' is a popular slogan that not only voices the people's displeasure with the Fed's favoritism, but also speaks to a national feeling of the Fed's illegitimacy. Lacking a powerful and capable central bank is a roadmap to mass unemployment and impoverishment. Jacobs and King present an energetic reform agenda to build an accountable central bank in America to ensure the economy remains stable and prosperous.

Suggested Citation

  • Jacobs, Lawrence & King, Desmond, 2016. "Fed Power: How Finance Wins," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199388967.
  • Handle: RePEc:oxp:obooks:9780199388967
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    Cited by:

    1. Manuela Moschella & Nicola M Diodati, 2020. "Does politics drive conflict in central banks’ committees? Lifting the veil on the European Central Bank consensus," European Union Politics, , vol. 21(2), pages 183-203, June.
    2. Benjamin Braun, 2016. "Speaking to the people? Money, trust, and central bank legitimacy in the age of quantitative easing," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(6), pages 1064-1092, November.
    3. Muhammad Akbar & Abdullah & Amjad Naveed & Shabib Haider Syed, 2022. "Does an Improvement in Rural Infrastructure Contribute to Alleviate Poverty in Pakistan? A Spatial Econometric Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 162(1), pages 475-499, July.
    4. Bruce Gilley, 2017. "Technocracy and democracy as spheres of justice in public policy," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 50(1), pages 9-22, March.
    5. Hanna Hilbrandt & Monika Grubbauer, 2020. "Standards and SSOs in the contested widening and deepening of financial markets: The arrival of Green Municipal Bonds in Mexico City," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(7), pages 1415-1433, October.
    6. Koop, Christel & Scotto di Vettimo, Michele, 2023. "How do the media scrutinise central banking? Evidence from the Bank of England," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    7. Walter, Timo & Wansleben, Leon, 2018. "How Central Bankers Learned to Love Financialization: The Fed, the Bank, and the Enlisting of Unfettered Markets in the Conduct of Monetary Policy," OSF Preprints gzyp6, Center for Open Science.
    8. Clément Fontan Fontan & Emmanuel Carré & Guillaume L'Oeillet, 2018. "Theoretical perspectives on the new era of central banking," Post-Print halshs-01866838, HAL.
    9. Baccaro, Lucio & Pontusson, Jonas, 2018. "Comparative political economy and varieties of macroeconomics," MPIfG Discussion Paper 18/10, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    10. Federico M. Ferrara & Donato Masciandaro & Manuela Moschella & Davide Romelli, 2021. "Political Voice on Monetary Policy: Evidence from the Parliamentary Hearings of the European Central Bank," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 21159, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    11. Hager, Sandy Brian, 2020. "Varieties of Top Incomes," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 18(4), pages 1175-1198.
    12. Mustafa Yagci & Caner Bakir, 2021. "Bridging international political economy and public policy and administration research on central banking [The missing politics of central banks]," Policy and Society, Darryl S. Jarvis and M. Ramesh, vol. 40(4), pages 502-521.

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