The Federal Reserve

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Mayer chronicles the history of the Federal Reserve, from its charter in 1913, through the events of the Great Depression, intervening decades of boom and bust, to today's role of market overseer; however, despite the higher than ever profile of the Fed, Mayer makes the point that much of this power is illusory. The author points out that the idea of the central bank as a significant regulator of the economy had its ascendancy in the middle of the 20th century, not only in the United States, but also around the world. The paper comments that, in this era of omnipresent media and twenty-four hour business television, it is Alan Greenspan who has become the face of the Federal Reserve for most of us.

From the Paper:

"Mayer begins his examination of the Federal Reserve with these events of October, 1998, when the economy was threatened by a worldwide liquidity crisis. Bankers and finance ministers converged on Washington for a meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. On the table was the issue of the Asian financial crisis and its impact on certain nations' ability to service their debt. Highly leveraged hedge funds were in danger of collapsing due to their high debt levels. Bankers at the Washington meeting were encouraged to increase lending rates to stave off a serious market downturn."

More papers on The Federal Reserve:

• Essay # 72108 : "The Federal Reserve"
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• Analytical Essay # 142590 : "The Impact of the Federal Reserve"
• Persuasive Essay # 105444 : "The Federal Reserve Bank Today"

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