LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After you have read this section, you should be able to answer the following questions:
When and why was the Federal Reserve System created in the United States?
What are the connections between the Federal Reserve System and the executive and legislative branches of the US government?
How does our study of monetary policy apply to other central banks around the world?
We start our discussion with institutions.
The Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve System was formally established in an act of Congress on December 23, 1913, called the Federal Reserve Act (http://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/fract.htm). The stated purpose of the act was as follows: “To provide for the establishment of Federal reserve banks, to furnish an elastic currency, to afford means of rediscounting commercial paper, to establish a more effective supervision of banking in the United States, and for other purposes.” [***The Federal Reserve Act is found at “Federal Reserve Act,” Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, accessed September 20, 2011,http://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/fract.htm, and the structure of the Federal Reserve System is presented at “The Structure of the Federal Reserve System,” The Federal Reserve Board, accessed September 20, 2011, http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/frseries/frseri.htm. ***] The Federal Reserve System is built around a 7-member Board of Governors together with 12 regional banks. The members of the board are appointed by the president and approved by Congress to serve for 14 years. The FOMC, which is instrumental in the conduct of monetary policy, has 12 members.
Although the president and Congress play a role in the appointment of members of the Fed, their direct control stops there. The Fed is an independent body. The executive and congressional branches of the government have no formal input into the determination of monetary policy. Congressional control is limited to the fact that the chair of the Fed is required to report to Congress periodically and to Congress eventually having the power to change the laws governing the Fed’s conduct. The goals of the Fed are specified in the section of the Federal Reserve Act titled “Monetary Policy Objectives”: “The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee shall maintain long run growth of the monetary and credit aggregates commensurate with the economy’s long run potential to increase production, so as to promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.” [***“Federal Reserve Act: Monetary Policy Objectives,” Federal Reserve, December 27, 2000, accessed August 6, 2011, http://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/section2a.htm.***] These objectives provide guidance to the Fed: it is required to pay attention to the level of economic activity (“maximum employment”) and to the level of inflation (“stable prices”). Exactly how the Fed promotes these goals—and chooses among them if necessary—is not specified. In some cases, the different aims of the Fed may conflict. For example, promoting employment may not be consistent with low inflation. The February 2, 2005, statement explicitly notes the balance between these goals.
The Fed has three main ways of affecting what goes on in the economy. The first was alluded to, although not mentioned by name, in the February 2, 2005, policy announcement. It is called open-market operations and represents the main way that the Fed influences interest rates. A second tool—the discount rate—was mentioned explicitly in the policy announcement. The third tool—reserve requirements—was not mentioned on February 2, 2005, but is nonetheless an important weapon in the Fed’s arsenal. Later on in this chapter, we examine the tools of the Fed in detail. For the moment, it is enough to know that the Fed affects the economy through changes in interest rates.
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