Ben Bernanke
Governance and diversity at the Federal Reserve
Could changes in governance practices have contributed to poor performance in 2021–22? asks Jeffrey Lacker
BoE publishes terms of reference for Bernanke review
Former Fed chair to provide insights into how to forecast in “significant uncertainty”
Focus is needed on improving central bank forecasts
Charles Goodhart believes tougher action over forecasting errors is preferable to policy-maker performance-related pay
Bernanke and Blanchard reassess causes of inflation surge
Economists who predicted surge misunderstood underlying causes, study finds
Banknotes: October to December 2022
A round-up of news and salient issues that have affected central bankers in the past three months
Book notes: Yellen, by Jon Hilsenrath
This book offers new insights into the tough decisions and tremendous efforts Yellen has made as a pre-eminent economic policy-maker
Bernanke, Diamond and Dybvig win Nobel Prize
Economics prize goes to authors of widely cited work on financial crises
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: Tumultuous times, by Masaaki Shirakawa
A rare and refreshingly honest description of a governorship that spanned a series of crises
Bernanke says Fed acted too slowly on inflation
Former Fed chair argues forward guidance hampered Fed’s response to rising prices
US Senate reappoints Powell as Fed chair
Appointment comes as Powell’s approval rating in polls falls to lowest point in his career
Lifetime achievement: Stanley Fischer
Fischer has had a profound impact on monetary economics and central banking during his prolific career
US may face ‘jobless recovery’ despite huge stimulus
Economists warn fiscal stimulus has been poorly targeted; Ben Bernanke defends Fed policy
BoE’s Bailey explores future of balance sheet policy
Question of whether QE is “state contingent” could impact how it is deployed through the cycle
Lessons from the Riksbank’s negative rates experiment
Sweden is the only nation to have implemented negative rates and then returned them to ‘normal’ territory. What can central bankers learn from the Swedish experience?
Book notes: The great demographic reversal, by Charles Goodhart and Manoj Pradhan
An important book, predicting that powerful demographic forces will upend conventional thinking on macroeconomics and policy
Influential Fed economist Thomas Laubach dies
Current and former Fed officials pay tribute to the US central bank’s German influencer, who died on September 2
Fed feeling its way with new inflation framework
Average inflation targeting is broadly dovish, and could see rates stay lower for even longer
James Bullard on the Fed’s policy review, FSOC and forecasting jobs data
St Louis Fed president discusses his support for average inflation targeting, his concerns about US Treasuries market function, non-bank regulatory weakness and negative rates, as well as the unexpected success in using Homebase data to predict highly…
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
Bernanke and Yellen join call for new fiscal stimulus in US
Former Fed chairs among 148 economists warning of “disastrous” effects if Congress fails to act
Central banking enters a new era
Central banks face a delicate balancing act to preserve their reputations as they evolve into ‘buyers of last resort’ and some of their actions appear functionally equivalent to ‘monetary financing’
Fed set to adopt ‘elements’ of price-level targeting
Covid-19 could act as a catalyst for a Janet Yellen-supported Fed move to adopt elements of price-level targeting. But questions remain about the timing of such a move
El-Erian on Covid-19 policy risks, ‘zombie’ markets and central bank capture
Former Pimco chief says Fed move into high yield is a step too far, new rules needed on leverage and false liquidity, and narrow window emerges for central banks to shed some of their policy load