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| Preface | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Why is the Federal Reserve (the Fed) so important to the country? | |
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| When and why was the Fed founded? | |
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| How did the Fed evolve? | |
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| How in general does the Fed compare with other central banks? | |
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| How does a central bank differ from other banks and financial institutions? | |
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| How do the Fed's unique policy instruments affect the nation's economy as a whole? | |
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| If so crucial to national policy, why is the Fed independent of the government? | |
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| The Fed's Organization for Policy | |
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| Where does responsibility for monetary policy decisions reside in the Fed? | |
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| What does the FOMC do and how is it organized? | |
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| How are other monetary policy instruments controlled? | |
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| How is the politically appointed Board of Governors chosen? | |
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| How are Reserve Banks governed? | |
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| What role do Reserve Banks play in the policy process? | |
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| Should the regional structure of me Fed be modified for today's world? | |
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| Should Reserve Bank presidents be politically appointed? | |
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| Do member banks and directors of Federal Reserve Banks unduly profit or exert influence? | |
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| What happens to the profits from Fed operations? | |
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| What is the underlying connection between the government and the Fed? | |
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| How does the government keep tabs on the Fed? | |
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| What does it mean in practice to say the Fed is independent? | |
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| Basic Monetary Policy Objectives | |
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| What are the Fed's basic objectives? | |
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| How does the Fed take account of it long-run economic goals? | |
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| What role does the Fed chairman play in focusing the institution's goals? | |
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| In what sense are the Fed's monetary policy objectives compatible with each other? | |
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| What does price stability mean? | |
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| What makes the Fed prefer a little rather than no inflation as its practical goal? | |
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| What inflation rate seems to satisfy the goal of price stability? | |
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| Has the Fed specified a target rate of inflation? | |
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| Instruments of Monetary Policy | |
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| How are the Fed's monetary instruments employed in the policy process? | |
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| Which of the Fed's instruments are most significant for implementing policy? | |
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| How are open market operations employed in policy implementation? | |
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| How does the federal funds rate connect with money market conditions in general? | |
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| How does the funds rate decision affect other credit markets? | |
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| How do key borrowers respond to changed market conditions? | |
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| How do FOMC policy decisions adapt to market uncertainties? | |
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| How do open market operations avoid creating too much money and inflation? | |
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| Does the money market itself influence spending or is it mostly a policy conduit? | |
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| Are the Fed's powers also used to influence the government securities market? | |
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| The Formulation and Communication of Monetary Policy | |
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| What is the institutional structure for monetary policy decisions? | |
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| What material is provided to the FOMC for discussion of the economic outlook? | |
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| What material is provided to help the Committee form its monetary policy decision? | |
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| How do Committee members conduct their discussion of the economy and monetary policy? | |
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| What, in general, are the main influences on the Fed's policy decision? | |
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| How do Committee members frame and communicate their decision about policy? | |
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| How influential is the chairman in the policy votes? | |
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| Why has the Fed become much more open about policy in recent decades? | |
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| Can there be too much openness? | |
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| The Fed's Role, Other Domestic Policies, and Conditions Abroad | |
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| What policies outside the Fed's control most influence its policy effectiveness? | |
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| How do fiscal and monetary policies best fit together? | |
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| How are decisions about coordinate roles of fiscal and monetary policies made in practice? | |
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| How do regulatory issues relate to monetary policy and its dual economic objectives? | |
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| How does the Fed's own regulatory authority fit into the nation's regulatory structure? | |
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| How has the Dodd-Frank Act influenced the Fed's regulatory stance? | |
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| How might the Fed better integrate monetary and regulatory policies? | |
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| How is Fed policy influenced by policies and conditions abroad? | |
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| Will the Fed's ability to make monetary policy decisions on purely domestic grounds be significantly lessened by further integration of world financial markets? | |
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| The Fed's Two Great Postwar Crises | |
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| In what ways are the two great postwar crises similar? | |
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| How did the Fed becomes involved in the great inflation's onset? | |
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| How did the Fed control inflation and regain credibility? | |
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| What again destabilized the economic and financial background for Fed policy? | |
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| How did the Fed become involved in the great credit crisis? | |
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| What actions did the Fed take to help contain the crisis? | |
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| How did the Fed contribute to the recovery? | |
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| What lessons can be learned from the Fed's management of the two great postwar crises? | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| What major challenges face the Fed as an organization in the future? | |
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| How well has the Fed served the country? | |
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| Appendix A-1 | |
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| Appendix A-2 | |
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| Index | |