Provides an in-depth overview of the Federal Reserve System, including information about monetary policy and the economy, the Federal Reserve in the international sphere, supervision and regulation, consumer and community affairs and services offered by Reserve Banks. Contains several appendixes, including a brief explanation of Federal Reserve regulations, a glossary of terms, and a list of additional publications.

Controlling inflation is among the most important objectives of economic policy. By maintaining price stability, policy makers are able to reduce uncertainty, improve price-monitoring mechanisms, and facilitate more efficient planning and allocation of resources, thereby raising productivity. This volume focuses on understanding the causes of the Great Inflation of the 1970s and ’80s, which saw rising inflation in many nations, and which propelled interest rates across the developing world into the double digits. In the decades since, the immediate cause of the period’s rise in inflation has been the subject of considerable debate. Among the areas of contention are the role of monetary policy in driving inflation and the implications this had both for policy design and for evaluating the performance of those who set the policy. Here, contributors map monetary policy from the 1960s to the present, shedding light on the ways in which the lessons of the Great Inflation were absorbed and applied to today’s global and increasingly complex economic environment.

This book explains how sweeping demographic changes have resulted in the ineffectiveness of recent monetary and fiscal policies, and it identifies corrective actions that will start to reverse the trends of low economic growth and widespread government deficits. The field of demographics does not focus on the economic impacts and the funding issues resulting from demographic change. Similarly, economics does not take into account demographic changes. The omissions in both fields are negatively impacting the nation: income reductions caused by demographic changes that have not been accounted for are so large that current fiscal policies are not able to mitigate them. The Puzzle of the American Economy: How Changing Demographics Will Affect Our Future and Influence Our Politics exposes the factors that are undermining the nation's prospects for improving the rate of economic growth and keeping up with citizens' needs for government-provided services. Author Mark A. Pisano explains the hidden drag on the economy that has led to the ineffectiveness of recent monetary and fiscal policies, how uncertainty in economic policymaking is affecting America politically as well as at the individual household level, and why those who are adversely impacted are becoming politically disaffected. He also presents an agenda for corrective individual action. Readers will understand how the results of changes in demographics will last for decades and extend beyond the United States to many developed countries-particularly Japan and nations in Europe-as well as to some developing countries. The book will be of value to students studying macro and micro economics; those in public policy at all levels of government, public administration, and governmental budgeting; and anyone attempting to understand the current dilemma in economic policymaking and our disjointed political process.

Each year, 25% of the world's output is produced by less than 5% of the planet's population. The juxtaposition of these two figures gives an idea of the power of the American economy. Not only is it the most productive among the major developed economies, but it is also a place where new products, services and production methods are constantly being invented. Even so, for all its efficiency and its capacity for innovation, the United States is progressively manifesting worrying signs of dysfunction. Since the 1970s, the American economy has experienced increasing difficulty in generating social progress. Worse still, over the past twenty years, signs of actual regression are becoming more and more numerous. How can this paradox be explained? Answering this question is the thread running throughout the chapters of this book. Anton Brender and Florence Pisani, economists with Candriam Investors Group, offer the reader an overview of the history and structure of the American economy, guided by a concern to shed light on the problems it faces today.