Book reviews/Monetary Policy
Book notes: The ruble: a political history, by Ekaterina Pravilova
Indispensable reading for anyone interested in Russia and comparative, long-term historical accounts of monetary ideologies and practice
Book notes: The Federal Reserve: a new history, by Robert L Hetzel
This book should become the standard reference for scholars
Book notes: The rise of central banks, by Leon Wansleben
The books is at its best when the author focusses on sociological angles related to central bank economics
Book notes: Money and the rule of law, by Peter Boettke, Alexander Salter and Daniel Smith
A largely US-focused book, which hankers for more robust rules for central banks but isn’t explicit as to what kind
Book notes: The next age of uncertainty, by Stephen Poloz
This book provides a well-informed and well-argued view about our economic future
Book notes: A guide to good money, by Brendan Brown and Robert Pringle
The authors make some good points even if one does not agree with this full-bodied attack on Keynesian economics and inflation targeting
Book notes: A monetary and fiscal history of the United States, 1961–2021, by Alan Blinder
An infusion of the history of fiscal policy into a theoretical framework traditionally focused on monetary instruments
Book notes: Zero interest rate policy and the new abnormal, by Michael Beenstock
Thesis that QE caused low r* is entertaining and infuriating in equal measure
Book notes: Yellen, by Jon Hilsenrath
Offers new insights into the tough decisions Yellen has made as a pre-eminent economic policy-maker
Book notes: 21st century monetary policy, by Ben S Bernanke
Bernanke’s great book offers important insights for today’s policy-makers, writes Stephen Poloz
Book notes: Can’t we just print more money?, by Rupal Patel and Jack Meaning
A genuinely readable but non-neutral introduction to economics
Book notes: Harry White and the American creed, by James Boughton
This book offers a deeper understanding of the IMF founder, but fails to resolve espionage charges
Book notes: Shutdown, by Adam Tooze
Useful overview, showing intimate intertwining of geopolitics with health and economic policies
Book notes: Empire of silver, by Jin Xu
A useful introduction to China’s monetary history, focusing on the last 1,000 years, but not the easiest of reads throughout
Book notes: Robert Triffin, by Ivo Maes with Ilaria Pasotti
Triffin’s story is well told by Maes, whose extensive personal and academic research shines through
Book notes: Quantitative easing, by Jonathan Ashworth
Well-documented and comprehensive book for anyone wanting overview of monetary policy evolution over recent decades
Book notes: Central banks as fiscal players, by Willem Buiter
Buiter puts a real economic problem into a convincing theoretical frame, and translates it into applicable policy advice
Book notes: The political economy of the special relationship, by Jeremy Green
Unsatisfactory story about the decline and resurgence of the UK’s importance in the global financial system
Book notes: The great demographic reversal, by Charles Goodhart and Manoj Pradhan
An important book, predicting that powerful demographic forces will upend conventional thinking
Book notes: The menace of fiscal QE, by George Selgin
Much of this book is even more relevant, thought-provoking and important following Covid-19
Book notes: Radical uncertainty, by Mervyn King and John Kay
The one certainty we have faced is that we must confront uncertainty, which is precisely the point of this wonderful book