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Central Banks as Lenders of Last Resort - Trendy or Passe?

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Abstract

From Henry Thornton (1802), through Walter Bagehot (1873) until Ralph Hawtrey (1932), the lender of last resort function was central to the theory of central bank behaviour. In that role, the bank was urged to aid individual banks in times of crisis, but also and crucially to provide liquidity to the market. In modern circumstances, banking systems are subject to a degree of regulation and oversight that did not exist before the Great Depression, and the first element in the lender of last resort's role has become rather unimportant. The latter element remains crucial in dealing with financial crises, however, even in a world in which, in normal times, monetary policy is executed through interest rates rather than the reserve base.

Suggested Citation

  • David Laidler, 2004. "Central Banks as Lenders of Last Resort - Trendy or Passe?," University of Western Ontario, Economic Policy Research Institute Working Papers 20048, University of Western Ontario, Economic Policy Research Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwo:epuwoc:20048
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    File URL: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=economicsepri_wp
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    Cited by:

    1. Paul Tucker, 2014. "The lender of last resort and modern central banking: principles and reconstruction," BIS Papers chapters, in: Bank for International Settlements (ed.), Re-thinking the lender of last resort, volume 79, pages 10-42, Bank for International Settlements.
    2. Akhand Akhtar Hossain, 2009. "Central Banking and Monetary Policy in the Asia-Pacific," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 12777.
    3. Frank Milne, 2008. "Anatomy of the Credit Crisis: The role of Faulty Risk Management Systems," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 269, July.
    4. Cecile Bastidon & Philippe Gilles & Nicolas Huchet, 2008. "A Selective Bail-Out International Lending of Last Resort Model," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 9(1), pages 103-114, May.
    5. C. Sardoni, 2006. "Why Central Banks (and Money) Rule the Roost," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_457, Levy Economics Institute.
    6. Bastidon, Cécile & Gilles, Philippe & Huchet, Nicolas, 2008. "The international lender of last resort and selective bail-out," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 144-152, June.
    7. David Laidler, 2013. "Reassessing the Thesis of the Monetary History," University of Western Ontario, Economic Policy Research Institute Working Papers 20135, University of Western Ontario, Economic Policy Research Institute.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    monetary policy; central bank; financial crisis; liquidity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B12 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Classical (includes Adam Smith)
    • B22 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Macroeconomics
    • E5 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies

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