"One of Financial Times (FT.com) Best Books of 2016" Peter Conti-Brown is assistant professor of legal studies and business ethics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is the coeditor of When States Go Broke and Research Handbook on Central Banking.
An in-depth look at the history, leadership, and structure of the Federal Reserve Bank
The independence of the Federal Reserve is considered a cornerstone of its identity, crucial for keeping monetary policy decisions free of electoral politics. But do we really understand what is meant by "Federal Reserve independence"? Using scores of examples from the Fed's rich history, The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve shows that much common wisdom about the nation's central bank is inaccurate. Legal scholar and financial historian Peter Conti-Brown provides an in-depth look at the Fed's place in government, its internal governance structure, and its relationships to such individuals and groups as the president, Congress, economists, and bankers.
Exploring how the Fed regulates the global economy and handles its own internal politics, and how the law does-and does not-define the Fed's power, Conti-Brown captures and clarifies the central bank's defining complexities. He examines the foundations of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, which established a system of central banks, and the ways that subsequent generations have redefined the organization. Challenging the notion that the Fed Chair controls the organization as an all-powerful technocrat, he explains how institutions and individuals-within and outside of government-shape Fed policy. Conti-Brown demonstrates that the evolving mission of the Fed-including systemic risk regulation, wider bank supervision, and as a guardian against inflation and deflation-requires a reevaluation of the very way the nation's central bank is structured.
Investigating how the Fed influences and is influenced by ideologies, personalities, law, and history, The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve offers a uniquely clear and timely picture of one of the most important institutions in the United States and the world. "Conti-Brown, as a legal scholar, really gets the tangled web that is the Fed. And, as a writer, he does a masterful job of taking the typical reader into this web. The result is that Power and Independence is a wonderfully written book from which even the most expert Fedhead will learn a lot."---Narayana R. Kocherlakota, Journal of Economic Literature "Conti-Brown has accomplished two near impossibilities: He has opened up new areas of inquiry on an overworn topic, and he has made them intellectually rigorous as well as riveting to read about." "[A] stimulating book. . . . Conti-Brown gives us much food for thought about how central banks go about their work."---David Green, Financial World "Conti-Brown's clear analysis and elegant language make the book a fascinating read." "Conti-Brown makes a compelling case for change."---Michael Reddell, Central Banking Journal "[Conti-Brown] explains clearly how complex relationships shape the Fed's independence in a meticulous study of its political, economic and constitutional history." "He explains clearly how complex relationships shape the Fed's independence in a meticulous study of its political, economic and constitutional history."---Philip Augar, Financial Times "Peter's book should spur lawyers and academics to think critically about the FOMC's constitutional status. And whether or not we agree with Peter's conclusion, his book will serve to define the terms of the debate."---Daniel Hemel, Yale Journal of Regulation "While the topic is complex, layered, and labyrinthine, Conti-Brown's clear analysis and elegant language make the book a fascinating read." "This book is an interesting, even scary, account of the governance of the Federal Reserve, with examples of the influence of personalities in ways not anticipated by law." "A p
