The Fed Unbound

A fascinating and deep analysis of what has gone wrong with the American financial system. Lev Menand peels back the layers of mythology and hagiography surrounding the Federal Reserve, to reveal just another government agency that fell in love with deregulation and now struggles with the consequences. The rise and rise of the repo market is central to how a stable and well-functioning financial system became so precarious. This is a must read for anyone who cares about macroeconomic policy and the future of the global economy. -Simon Johnson, professor at MIT Sloan, and co-author of 13 Bankers Over the past century, the Federal Reserve has grown massively in power, size and influence. Yet the reasons for this evolution, and the myriad consequences that flow from it, have often remained shrouded from view. In The Fed Unbound, Menand provides a provocative and fresh account of the Fed's rise to one of the most important institutions of our time. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in how the government or financial markets actually work. -Kathryn Judge, Harvey J. Goldschmid Professor of Law at Columbia Law School and author of Direct: The Rise of the Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source Lev Menand explains that shadow banking and some newer innovations should be treated as within the private part of the monetary system, while the Fed should not be treated as an all-purpose substitute for the elected Congress. These profound propositions need urgent attention given U.S. world leadership depends on the effectiveness, integrity, and legitimacy of the Fed. Read this book. -Paul Tucker, author of Unelected Power: The Quest for Legitimacy in Central Banking and the Regulatory State The Fed Unbound is a wonderfully lucid and provocative account of the Fed's ever-expanding role in the U.S. and global economies. Everyone who reads Menand's account will rethink their understanding of the Fed's place in the U.S. economy and in the government. This book will be a landmark in the growing field of law and macroeconomics. -Yair Listokin, professor at Yale Law School and author of Law and Macroeconomics: Legal Remedies to Recessions Born out of the need to govern the private money supply in a democracy, the Federal Reserve System manages a marriage between the state and the banks it is designed to regulate. As Menand shows, neither partner has been able to effectively contain the other. The outcome of this 'quixotic dance' is The Fed Unbound. A crucial read for anybody interested in the structural causes of todays' monetary policy. -Katharina Pistor, professor at Columbia Law School and author of The Code Of Capital: How Law Creates Wealth and Inequality