Whom can we trust to run the Fed? Theoretical support for the founders' views

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Faust, J
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF MONETARY ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3932
• DOI: 10.1016/S0304-3932(96)90037-9
• 发表日期: 1996
• 页码: 267-283
• 关键词: central bank design; monetary policy; voting

摘要

The Federal Reserve has been called a bizarre policymaking structure. This paper documents and formalizes a historical argument that the Fed's structure was a response to public conflict over inflation's redistributive powers. The paper shows that, in the face of conflict over redistributive inflation, policy by majority can lead to policy that is worse, even for the majority, than obvious alternatives. In balancing the interests for and against surprise inflation, the Fed's structure can lead to a better outcome.