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Federal Reserve Structure and Economic Ideas

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  • Michael D. Bordo
  • Edward Simpson Prescott

Abstract

This essay was written in memory of Marvin Goodfriend for a Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond book called Essays in Honor of Marvin Goodfriend: Economist and Central Banker. We discuss his Carnegie-Rochester conference paper titled "The Role of a Regional Bank in a System of Central Banks." In that paper, Marvin argued that the Federal Reserve's decentralized structure allowed for competing ideas about monetary and banking policy to develop with the central bank. In our essay, we describe how Marvin demonstrated this argument during his long career at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. We also describe the institutional developments that led to this competition, including reforms that Chairman William McChesney Martin made to the operation of the Federal Open Market Committee in the 1950s and the introduction of monetary policy ideas such as monetarism and rational expectations by the Reserve Banks.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael D. Bordo & Edward Simpson Prescott, 2022. "Federal Reserve Structure and Economic Ideas," Working Papers 22-08, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedcwq:93876
    DOI: 10.26509/frbc-wp-202208
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alesina, Alberto & Summers, Lawrence H, 1993. "Central Bank Independence and Macroeconomic Performance: Some Comparative Evidence," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 25(2), pages 151-162, May.
    2. Goodfriend, Marvin, 1986. "Monetary mystique: Secrecy and central banking," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 63-92, January.
    3. Robert L. Hetzel & Ralph F. Leach, 2001. "After the accord : reminiscences on the birth of the modern Fed," Economic Quarterly, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, issue Win, pages 57-64.
    4. Michael D. Bordo & Edward Simpson Prescott, 2019. "Federal Reserve Structure, Economic Ideas, and Monetary and Financial Policy," Working Papers 19-13, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
    5. Sargent, Thomas J & Wallace, Neil, 1975. ""Rational" Expectations, the Optimal Monetary Instrument, and the Optimal Money Supply Rule," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 83(2), pages 241-254, April.
    6. Marvin Goodfriend, 1999. "The role of a regional bank in a system of central banks. 1999 annual report of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond," Annual Report, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
    7. Kydland, Finn E & Prescott, Edward C, 1977. "Rules Rather Than Discretion: The Inconsistency of Optimal Plans," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 85(3), pages 473-491, June.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Federal Reserve structure; monetary policy; governance; Marvin Goodfriend;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B0 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - General
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • H1 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government

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