Fed Power: How Finance Wins

264 Pages·2016·0.98 MB·English

by  Lawrence Jacobs

Fed Power

Fed Power
How Finance Wins
Lawrence R. Jacobs
and Desmond King
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Jacobs, Lawrence R. | King, Desmond S.
Title: Fed power : how finance wins
/ Lawrence R. Jacobs, Desmond King.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2016.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015040588 (print) | LCCN 2015050008 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780199388967 (hardback) | ISBN 9780199388974 (E-book) |
ISBN 9780199388981 (E-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Federal Reserve banks—History. | Banks and banking,
Central—United States—History. | Monetary policy—United
States—History. | Government accountability—United States—History. |
Equality—United States—History. | Democracy—United States—History. |
BISAC: POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Economic Policy. | POLITICAL
SCIENCE / General.
Classification: LCC HG2563 .J33 2016 (print) | LCC HG2563 (ebook) | DDC
332.1/10973—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015040588
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
Typeset in Century Schoolbook
Printed by Sheridan, USA
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
1 Why Fed Power Matters 1
2 The Rise of the Fed State 52
3 Concealed Advantage 92
4 The Fed’s Legitimacy Problem 131
5 Preparing for the Next Financial Crisis 161
Notes 189
Index 245

Acknowledgments
This book grows out of our investigations of American politi-
cal economy during the last decade at a series of conferences
convened at Nuffield College and the Rothermere American
Institute in Oxford University. For financial support we are
grateful to Nuffield College, the Nuffield College Mellon Trust
Fund, and the Rothermere American Institute, as well as the
Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs and the Walter F.
and Joan Mondale Chair for Political Studies at the University
of Minnesota. We are grateful to paper givers and participants
at two conferences we convened on the politics of governing the
Federal Reserve. None bear responsibility for errors of fact or
interpretations.
We would also like to acknowledge the research assistance of
Patrick Carter, Peter Polga-Hecimovich, and Jonathan Spiegler
in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, as well as Marissa
Theys in the Department of Political Science at the University of
Minnesota.
At Oxford University Press, Dave McBride has been an out-
standing editor whose support, guidance, and meticulous line-
by-line editing has been invaluable. We thank also Kathleen
Weaver and Gwen Colvin for their excellent guidance through
the production process.
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We dedicate this book to our families and their good cheer in
joining us on this journey. Fully alert to the hard truths of life,
we offer them these words from Seamus Heaney—“Believe in
miracle, And cures and healing wells.”
LRJ
DK
Fed Power