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Ben Bernanke | Biography, Nobel Prize, & Facts | Britannica

Ben Bernanke | Biography, Nobel Prize, & Facts | Britannica

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Ben Bernanke

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Ben Bernanke

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Ben Bernanke

American economist

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The Balance - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke

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Princeton University - Ben Bernanke, former Princeton professor and economics department chair, receives Nobel Prize in economic sciences

Federal Reserve History - Ben S. Bernanke

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BBC News - Ben Bernanke, former US Federal Reserve chief, wins Nobel Prize

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The Balance - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke

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Princeton University - Ben Bernanke, former Princeton professor and economics department chair, receives Nobel Prize in economic sciences

Federal Reserve History - Ben S. Bernanke

Jewish Virtual Library - Ben Bernanke

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Also known as: Benjamin Shalom Bernanke

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Ben Bernanke

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History & Society

In full:

Benjamin Shalom Bernanke

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Born:

December 13, 1953, Augusta, Georgia, U.S. (age 70)

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Awards And Honors:

Nobel Prize (2012)

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Princeton University - Ben Bernanke, former Princeton professor and economics department chair, receives Nobel Prize in economic sciences (Mar. 01, 2024)

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Mar. 1, 2024, 10:37 PM ET (Yahoo News)

BoE likely to overhaul its forecasting after inflation shocks, Pill says

Ben Bernanke (born December 13, 1953, Augusta, Georgia, U.S.) American economist who served as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“the Fed”), the central bank of the United States, from 2006 to 2014. In 2022 he and two other economists, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig, were awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics (the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel) for “research on banks and financial crises.” Bernanke, Diamond, and Dybvig were recognized by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which selects the winners of the Nobel Prize for Economics, for their insightful studies in the 1980s of the essential economic functions performed by banks, the vulnerability of banks to runs (i.e., massive withdrawals of funds by a bank’s depositors) during periods of financial panic, and the ways in which governments may improve the stability of banking systems and avert or properly manage financial crises. The laureates’ combined research forms the foundation of modern bank regulation.Bernanke grew up in Dillon, South Carolina, where his father worked as a pharmacist and his mother as a teacher. He graduated summa cum laude in economics from Harvard University (1975) and earned a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; 1979). His first professorial appointment was at Stanford University, where he taught economics from 1979 to 1985. He became a full professor in 1985 when he moved to Princeton University, and he served as a visiting professor at both New York University and MIT. Widely published on a range of economic issues—including macroeconomics, monetary policy, the Great Depression, and business cycles—Bernanke was awarded both a Guggenheim and a Sloan fellowship, and in 2001 he became editor of the American Economic Review. The following year he was appointed to the Board of Governors of the Fed, and he became noted for thorough research and diplomacy when opinions among the governors differed. His political strengths were also evident in early 2005 when he was named chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.

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Alan Greenspan, George W. Bush, and Ben BernankeU.S. Pres. George W. Bush (centre) announcing the nomination of Ben Bernanke (right) to replace retiring Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 2005.(more)George W. Bush speaking on the economyU.S. Pres. George W. Bush delivering a statement about the economy with (from left) Ben Bernanke, Henry Paulson, and Chris Cox, September 19, 2008. (more)In 2005 Bernanke was nominated by U.S. Pres. George W. Bush to succeed Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Fed. He took office on February 1, 2006. With his strong background in academia, Bernanke represented a clear break from previous Fed chairmen, who had usually come from Wall Street. While expected to uphold the style of fiscal management established by Greenspan, he brought certain important changes to the Fed, mainly in regard to inflation. Although his predecessor had rejected inflation targeting, Bernanke preferred a stated inflation objective, which he believed would bring about economic growth and stability. In September 2008 he worked with Bush and Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury Henry Paulson to draft the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, which aimed to protect the U.S. financial system during the subprime mortgage crisis, a severe contraction of liquidity in credit markets worldwide brought about by widespread losses in the subprime mortgage sector.While the measures helped stabilize the banking industry, the overall economy struggled to improve, and Bernanke became the focus of much scrutiny. Although some credited him for averting disaster, others claimed that he and the Fed did little to prevent the crisis. His Senate hearings for a second term proved contentious, but in January 2010 he was confirmed, 70–30. After completing the term in 2014, Bernanke was succeeded by Janet Yellen. In the same year, Bernanke became a Distinguished Fellow in Residence at the Brookings Institution, a public-policy think tank.Bernanke’s Nobel Prize-winning research focused on the causes and consequences of the Great Depression of the 1930s, the longest, most widespread, and most severe economic downturn in modern history. In a journal article published in 1983, “Nonmonetary Effects of the Financial Crisis in the Propagation of the Great Depression,” Bernanke argued that the primary cause of the Great Depression was the general inability of banks to fund productive investments through loans to businesses and consumers—the result of significant reductions in deposits by bank customers and the need of banks to retain money that could be demanded by depositors in future bank runs. Bernanke showed that widespread bank failures exacerbated the recession that had begun in 1929, transforming it into a severe and long-lasting depression. A major factor in this development, according to Bernanke, was the loss of information regarding the investment history and general creditworthiness of potential borrowers resulting from the failures of the banks with which they dealt. Such information usually takes years to accumulate and, in a context of large-scale bank failures, is not easily recovered by surviving lenders. Until it is, lending by banks is dampened and economic recovery is slowed. The accumulation of such information was and remains a crucially important function of the banking industry. Bernanke’s investigations made use of complementary research by Diamond and Dybvig, which explained how banks generate liquidity, thus making economic activity possible, by effectively transforming the savings of depositors into productive investments by long-term borrowers, and by Diamond, which explained how banks perform the crucial function of assessing the creditworthiness of potential borrowers by monitoring their debt repayments.Bernanke’s tenure as head of the Federal Reserve coincided with the global financial crisis of 2007–08, which precipitated the Great Recession of 2007–09. The Academy cited the policies adopted by the Federal Reserve during that period, which helped to limit bank failures in the United States and to avert a global depression, as illustrative of the importance of the Nobel laureates’ work.

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Bernanke contributed to a number of volumes on economics and in 2000 issued a compendium of his writings on the Great Depression. The Federal Reserve and the Financial Crisis (2013) collected a series of four lectures he had given in 2012 on the genesis and history of the Fed and on its efforts to address the 2008 financial meltdown. The Courage to Act: A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath (2015) documents his experiences as Fed chairman. Bernanke’s other books include 21st Century Monetary Policy: The Federal Reserve from the Great Inflation to COVID-19 (2022). The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Brian Duignan.

本·伯南克_百度百科

克_百度百科 网页新闻贴吧知道网盘图片视频地图文库资讯采购百科百度首页登录注册进入词条全站搜索帮助首页秒懂百科特色百科知识专题加入百科百科团队权威合作下载百科APP个人中心本·伯南克播报讨论上传视频美国经济学家收藏查看我的收藏0有用+10本·伯南克(英文:Ben Shalom Bernanke,1953年12月13日-),美国经济学家,前美国联邦储备委员会主席 [1]。1953年12月13日出生于美国佐治亚州的奥古斯塔,1975年获得哈佛大学文学学士学位,1979年获得麻省理工学院博士学位。伯南克在普林斯顿大学任教17年,曾担任经济学系主任。从1987年起成为美联储访问学者,期间1987年至1989年在费城联邦储备银行、1989年至1990年在波士顿联邦储备银行、1990年至1991 年与1994年至1996年两次就职于纽约联邦储备银行;2002年被布什任命为美联储理事。2005年6月,伯南克担任总统经济顾问委员会主席。2006年2月1日接任格林斯潘出任美联储主席。2009年12月,伯南克当选美国《时代》周刊2009年年度人物。2010年1月28日,获得美国国会参议院最终投票确认连任,2014年2月1日到任,任期4年。2014年2月3日,前美联储伯南克将加盟布鲁金斯学会,参与经济研究项目,重点关注经济复苏政策。 [2]2022年,获得诺贝尔经济学奖。 [13]中文名本·伯南克外文名Ben Shalom Bernanke国    籍美国出生日期1953年12月13日毕业院校哈佛大学,麻省理工学院职    业经济学家出生地美国代表作品《行动的勇气》、《宏观经济学原理》喜爱的地方圣雷莫,尼克希奇,乌普萨拉导    师斯坦利·费希尔 [3]政    党美国共和党星    座射手座性    别男目录1生平事迹▪学生时代▪职业生涯▪社会赞誉2所获荣誉3当选理事4政策主张5主要著作6财权双收7出版图书8经济贡献9央行讲话▪市场猜测▪讲话内容▪外界评论10货币政策▪支持货币宽松▪退出货币宽松11人物评价生平事迹播报编辑学生时代本·伯南克本·伯南克1953年12月13日出生于美国佐治亚州的奥古斯塔,在南卡罗来纳州一个名叫狄龙的小村子长大,父亲是当地的药剂师。伯南克小时候就表现出了自己在智力方面的潜质,小学六年级时赢得南卡罗来纳州拼字比赛冠军。如果不是后来在“edelweiss”(高山火绒草)这个单词中多加了一个“i”,他就赢得了全美单词拼写锦标赛的冠军。在高中时代,他就是加州SAT考试年度最高分获得者,大学入学考试成绩达到1590分,离满分仅差10分。高中毕业时,由于伯南克在各方面的优秀表现,他获得了美国高中毕业生的最高荣誉“美国优秀学生奖学金”。1975年,伯南克在哈佛大学获得经济学最优等成绩,并于1979年在麻省理工学院(MIT)获得博士学位。在麻省理工学院攻读博士学位时,伯南克最感兴趣的有两件事:美国20世纪30年代的经济大萧条和波士顿红袜棒球队。“进入麻省理工后的第一个秋季,我逃了许多堂课,就为了看棒球联赛。”伯南克回忆说。那一年,波士顿红袜队输掉了比赛,他至今仍为此伤心。同时,伯南克对美国经济大萧条的浓厚兴趣使他潜心思考和研究大萧条的原因,并开始长期关注通货紧缩对经济所构成的威胁。职业生涯本·伯南克伯南克的大部分生活都与校园紧密联系在一起。完成学业后,他直接把身份转换成了教师从事学术工作。1979-1983年,本·伯南克博士担任斯坦福大学研究生院经济学助理教授;1983-1985年,他担任斯坦福大学研究生院经济学副教授。这期间,他发表了一篇影响深远的论文,分析了20世纪30年代美国经济发展停滞的根源所在。他并不重视美联储允许货币供应下降而造成的损害,而是将关注重点转移至美金融系统失灵的问题上。1985年,本·伯南克博士转到普林斯顿大学担任经济和政治事务教授;1996-2002年,他出任普林斯顿大学经济系主任,为这所名校吸引了不少经济学人才。在普林斯顿大学任经济系主任期间,伯南克除在学术方面颇有建树外,在协调人际关系方面也显露了天赋。他从不认为自己比同事们更聪明或者职权更大,而是习惯于倾听不同的声音。他也从不参与政治纷争。在从事教学活动期间,本·伯南克博士还是麻省理工学院经济学访问教授(1989-1990)纽约大学经济学访问教授(1993年)。2002年8月5日,本·伯南克博士进入美联储,作为决策委员会的候选成员,并于2003 年11月14日被推选为美联储委员会正式委员。2005年6月,伯南克担任总统经济顾问委员会主席。但是其实,早在正式进入美联储之前,本-伯南克博士就已经担任过一些美联储的职务,他是费城联邦储备银行(1987-89)、波士顿联邦储备银行(1989-90)和纽约联邦储备银行(1990-91、1994-96)的访问学者,此外,他还是纽约联邦储备银行学术顾问小组的成员(1990-2002)。社会赞誉伯南克2009年荣膺《时代周刊》年度风云人物北京时间2009年12月16日,美国《时代》周刊宣布美联储主席本·伯南克当选2009年年度人物。伯南克被认为处理金融危机措施得当,成功避免通货紧缩。《时代》周刊给出伯南克当选的理由是,在金融危机乃至经济危机的背景下,他以“富于创意的领导能力”,令情况没变得“更糟”。周刊总编辑理查德·施滕格尔在杂志网站发表声明说:“衰退是年度故事。如果没有伯南克,情况本会更糟。”资深记者迈克尔·格伦沃尔德说,伯南克“以创意领导帮助确保2009年成为虚弱复苏而非灾难性衰退之年”,“对金钱、职业、储蓄和国家未来具有无可比拟的支配力”,是“引领世界最重要经济体的最重要选手”。2011年11月,据美国《福布斯》杂志报道,福布斯2011年度全球最有权力人物榜日前揭晓,负责监管世界最大经济体货币政策的美联储主席伯南克位列第八。2012年12月6日,《福布斯》发布了2012年全球最具影响力人物排行,列出了全球71位最重要的人物,美联储主席本·伯南克(Ben Bernanke)位列第六。2022年10月10日,瑞典皇家科学院宣布,将2022年诺贝尔经济学奖授予本·伯南克“以表彰他对银行和金融危机的研究”。 [14]所获荣誉播报编辑2022年10月10日晚,美联储前主席伯南克等3人获得诺贝尔经济学奖。 [13]当选理事播报编辑本·伯南克当伯南克2002年被布什选为美联储理事的时候,他显得有些惶恐,不过这显然情有可原:他在普林斯顿大学的好友兼同事、经济学家艾伦·布林德此前在美联储副主席的职位上只呆了两年,就因为和格林斯潘意见不合而走人,重新回到了学术界。在离开学术界进入美联储以来的近三年里,伯南克更多的仍然是表现出了自己的学者风范,而不像是一个体制内的政治决策者。凭借着自己脑子里的诸多新想法,他很快就为自己赢得了“个人创意工厂”的称号。他的自由思想方式在那些早就习惯了美联储高度谨慎行事风格的银行家和投资者中很受欢迎。不过令人惊奇的是,虽然伯南克的思维非常独立和活跃,但美联储此时表现出了更大的宽容。在2004年一次采访中,伯南克表示:“我认为,我的很大一部分贡献,是我作为一名学术界人士、一名智囊人员所做出的。美联储里没有人试图来协调我的观点,也没有人叫我闭嘴。”在进入美联储后,伯南克迅速展示了自己善于引导市场和决策层就某一焦点问题展开辩论的才能。2002年冬,美国经济界开始担忧通货膨胀的危险,他此时就出面暗示,美联储可能采用包括印发更多货币等非常规措施,来制止通货膨胀的出现。此言一出,立即引起了金融市场的高度关注。汇丰银行首席经济学家斯蒂芬·金评价说:“伯南克关于非常规货币政策的讲话非常重要,因为它是在向市场保证,美联储将采取一切必要手段(来防止通货膨胀)。”2005年初,世界金融市场再次将注意力投向伯南克的“世界正在遭受储蓄过剩煎熬”的经济新理论。他在这一理论中指出,美国的经常性账目逆差并不是美国人肆意挥霍消费的恶果,而是世界其他地区国家过分节俭的结果。伯南克的这一新理论已经成为了本年度经济界争论的一大焦点。同时,伯南克在美联储中也以自己支持设立通货膨胀目标的坚定立场而出名,在这一点上,他少见地和美联储主席格林斯潘意见相左。在美联储工作期间,伯南克以善于合作、为人坦诚而深受同事的赞赏。他习惯运用其学术背景和对最新数据的缜密分析来解决当下的经济问题,然后用非专业人士也能理解的语言让人们了解他的想法,把复杂的经济问题讲得通俗易懂、直截了当。一位同僚这样概括未来的主席:“他性格有点腼腆,平常衣着朴素,与布什在高层经济决策职位上偏好选择的企业高级管理人士相比,他显得非常另类。”政策主张播报编辑伯南克伯南克有一个绰号“印刷报纸的本”,这个绰号起源于他与格林斯潘在通货膨胀问题上的分歧,公众赐予伯南克这个雅号是基于他的一个观点:如果有需要,就可以通过大量印刷钞票的方法来增加流动性。但是,伯南克认为这个雅号曲解了他的本意,他主张设定一个明确的通胀目标,即要在一定时期内使通胀率保持在某个特定水平。他认为,这样做既可以引导市场对通货膨胀的预期,也有助于美联储提高其价格稳定目标的可信度。2002-2003年,在解决美国的通货紧缩问题上,伯南克就已经在业界获得极大的知名度,他当时极力鼓吹降息,结果导致美国联邦基金利率下降到1%(45年来的最低点)。对于石油价格的上升,伯南克认为,石油和其它常规能源供应吃紧且存在着不确定性因素,而全球经济的快速扩张带来需求的增长,在这种局面下,能源消费者可能在今后几年内感受到沉重的压力。虽然从长期来讲,能源价格的上涨有可能致使经济增长放缓,但我们认为,已然居高不下的油价不大可能进一步大幅上涨,因此油价对经济的长期影响应该在可控制范围内。关于美国的“双赤字”问题,伯南克认为,美国外债膨胀的一个主要原因是“发展中国家和新兴市场国家经常项目的实质性转变”,这种转变将这些国家从国际资本市场上的借款者变成净放款者。穷国的钱对美国经常项目赤字起到推波助澜的作用。关于“全球储蓄过剩”与房地产泡沫,伯南克指出,在经历低迷后的世界经济复苏后,企业投资欲望低迷,而大量的金融资产在国际上到处寻找投资目标,美国乃至多国股市的崩盘仍使不少资金持有者心有余悸,于是,住宅房地产便成为最受青睐的投资领域之一。资金进入美国后,首先抬升股价,从而既鼓励消费者也鼓励投资者。当股市资金充溢时,这些资金又转向债券市场,导致房价上升,消费更加活跃。伯南克还有一个理论贡献,就是主张在宏观经济模型中加入更多的经济指标来决定货币政策的取向,以便实现更加有效的经济稳定。并且,他也撰写了大量的论文来说明他设计的一些方法。2010年10月15日上午美联储主席在表示,因为通胀率仍然过低,同时失业率居高不下,美联储准备采取新的行动,以刺激疲软的经济,在波士顿联邦储备银行发表的讲话中,伯南克阐述了采取新一轮非常规经济刺激措施的理由。伯南克明确指出,通货膨胀低于美联储的目标运行,是采取更多的措施刺激经济的首要原因。经济观点华尔街日报中文网消息称,美国联邦储备委员会主席伯南克周四在在亚特兰大的演讲中表示,美国住房市场正在好转,但其复苏仍面临阻力,并对这些阻力感到担忧。并表示联储将继续“尽其所能”支持美国房市复苏。伯南克周四在为亚特兰大讲话准备的演讲辞中表示,Fed官员们仍担忧持续高企的失业率水平,并对一些阻碍住房市场及整体经济复苏加快的因素感到忧虑。伯南克称,Fed官员们了解问题的深度以及采取措施的必要性,将继续利用手头的政策工具来支持经济复苏。尽管伯南克指出美国多数地区的住房市场正显示出改善迹象,但他还表示,住房领域仍面临许多问题,包括低迷的建筑活动、较低的销量和售价、较高的止赎率以及不断下降的全国住房拥有率。贝南克称,住房市场还远没有摆脱困境。他表示,加强并扩大住房市场的复苏仍是决策者、银行和社区银行面临的主要挑战。2012年11月15日伯南克称,Fed采取的政策行动旨在压低长期利率,以降低借贷成本并促进支出。他表示,决策者们希望提高公众对Fed目标的信心,增加他们投资、招聘和支出的意愿。他表示,Fed的政策使得抵押贷款利率处于历史低位,这令越来越多的民众能够拥有住房,从而为住房市场提供了直接支持。但伯南克称,虽然在住房市场泡沫破裂后,对抵押信贷进行一定程度的收紧是必要的,但这种做法似乎有点矫枉过正。伯南克还指出,住房市场存在的许多问题可能会对低收入群体产生格外严重的影响。 [4]会对低收入群也是一种大的影响力。主要著作播报编辑《行动的勇气 [5]》全面阐释伯南克直面风险与拯救危局的金融哲学对危机救赎内幕前所未有的披露对金融政策的深入思考和现实考量2006年,伯南克被任命为美联储主席。从南卡罗来纳州的小镇到声誉卓著的学术殿堂,再到担任公职,伯南克个人的职业生涯可谓达到了一个意想不到的巅峰。他根本无暇庆贺。2007年,房地产泡沫破裂,全球金融系统的内在缺陷暴露无遗,一度濒临崩溃。从投行贝尔斯登的崩溃到对保险业巨头AIG开展空前救助,伯南克及其团队殚精竭虑,采取一切可用工具,遏制金融危机蔓延态势,使得美国乃至世界经济得以持续运转。公众对华尔街的贪婪义愤填膺。伯南克及其团队承受了巨大压力,但他们在两位总统的积极支持下,终于成功地让一个摇摇欲坠的金融体系恢复了稳定。一旦美国经济彻底崩溃,规模与后果将不堪设想,但伯南克等人以非凡的创意和决心力挽狂澜。他们提出了一系列非传统的救助工具,帮助了美国经济的复苏,开创了令其他国家竞相效仿的模式。本书记录和阐释了大萧条以来最糟糕的金融危机和经济衰退,并以内部人士的视角回顾了华盛顿的应对政策,全面翔实地披露了决策过程的细节,栩栩如生地刻画了主要人物的个人形象,同时也梳理了伯南克在专业背景下对金融政策和工具的思考与反思。《微观经济学原理》本书的一大特色是摒弃了以往教材对数学推导的过度依赖,更多地通过范例给出直观的经济学概念和观点。作者引入了一些核心原理,然后通过大量的事例给予说明,应用为数不多的核心原理解释绝大部分经济现象。书中还配有与这些原理相关的问题和练习题,以供学生课后练习使用。正是通过对这些原理近乎不厌其烦的分析与应用,以确保大多数学生在学完这门课程时能够对它们有深刻的理解并能扎实地掌握,相比之下,传统的百科全书式教科书使学生陷于众多复杂繁锁的细节知识中,以至于学生在结束课程之后,无法做到学以致用。本书的另一特色是加强了对学生的经济学应用能力的培养,重视调动学习的主动性与积极性,鼓励读者用基本的经济学原理和解释发生在自己周围的一些实际问题。作为微观经济学入门水平的教材,它体现微观经济学的现代特征,并拥有相关网站支持,适合大专院校经济管理各相关专业使用,也可作为普通读者了解微观经济学的读物。《宏观经济学原理》这本教材涵盖宏观经济所有内容,不仅对古典框架和凯恩斯主义框架的宏观经济经典理论分别有详细阐述,而且对宏观经济学发展过程中的重要议题和数据的讨论都有描述。这本书和其他宏观经济学教材的最大不同在于,它以现代、应用性的视角对经典的理论予以回顾,对整个宏观经济领域都有深入浅出的描述。灵活的章节设定可以让老师们根据课时需要而加以选择;每个章节后面对概念和框架的小总结,可以帮助学生们梳理思路。另外、课后练习可以让学生们分析些真实数据而增强对宏观经济的感觉,这些数据也是实际经济生活中政策制定者、经济学家、政府官员们用到的数据。这本书非常经典、通俗易懂,是一本理解现代宏观经济的参考书。了解经济学的人就会选择这本书。《通货膨胀目标制:国际经验》本书由伯南克等人根据20世纪90年代以来一些实行通货膨胀目标制的国家的经验提炼而成。它以案例研究的方式,对这些国家在实行通货膨胀目标制过程中面临的重大宏观经济问题进行了深入的分析,对货币政策的决策和执行的经验做了系统的总结。通过这样一个分析视角, 我们对货币政策能做什么和不能做什么, 以及如何运作, 就有了具体而微的理解。《大萧条 [6]》伯南克的这本著作为我们提供了一个对“大萧条”进行认识的全新视角,不再将研究仅仅局限于美国自身的情况,而是在世界范围内研究“大萧条”。通过理论和实证相结合、以实证为主的方法,对“大萧条”这一经济史上的重大事件进行了深入研究,体现了伯南克在计量经济学方面的深厚造诣。在书中,伯南克将总体分析和结构分析、宏观分析和微观分析有机地结合起来,阐述了解释大萧条成因和机制的思路。学术成就本·伯南克在2002年之前,伯南克全部职业生涯都是在学术界度过的,学术成果丰硕,其中最有名的是他与合作者在一篇展望格林斯潘之后美联储政策的评论文章中,提出要给通货膨胀设定一个量化的控制目标,在一定时期内使通货膨胀率保持在特定的水平,以便引导公众预期。本-伯南克博士主要著作包括货币和宏观经济学,他出版过两本教材。他获得过Guggenheim和Sloan奖学金。他是美国计量经济学会和美国艺术与科学学会的会员。本-伯南克博士曾担任美国经济研究局货币经济计划主任,也曾担任美国经济研究局商业周期协调委员会成员。2001年7月,他被任命为《美国经济评论》编辑。此外,他还担任过一些民间和专业组织的工作,如出任纽约Montgomery 小镇教育委员会的成员等。财权双收播报编辑美联储2010年7月31日公布的年度财务信息报告显示,2009伯南克的个人资产增长了31%,达到248万美元。好事成双,就在前不久奥巴马总统签署的金融监管新法案中,美联储的权力得到了前所未有的扩充。而让伯南克喜出望外的是,美联储今后在行使对大型金融机构监管权的同时,原有的独立货币政策没有受到丝毫的削弱和损伤。现年63岁的伯南克2006年接替格林斯潘出任美联储主席,并在2010年2月获得总统提名而开始四年的连任。伯南克在小学六年级时就赢得了州际拼字比赛冠军,大学入学考试成绩离满分仅差10分而被哈佛大学录取;在哈佛,伯南克的经济学学习成绩总是排名第一,并于四年之后顺利进入麻省理工攻读博士。不出老师和同学的意料之外,喜欢读书的伯南克博士毕业之后选择了留校执教,而且在普林斯顿大学一干就是17年。在担任普林斯顿大学教授和经济学系主任期间,以货币政策和宏观经济史为研究方向的伯南克曾编著《宏观经济学原理》和《微观经济学原理》等教材,在这些著作中,伯南克主张设定一个明确的通胀目标,即要在一定时期内使通胀率保持在某个特定水平,以引导市场对通货膨胀的预期,同时有助于美联储提高其价格稳定目标的可信度。与此同时,伯南克主张在宏观经济模型中加入更多的经济指标来决定货币政策的取向,以便实现更加有效的经济稳定。这些学术成就不仅造就了伯南克知名宏观经济学家的地位,而且赢得了美联储的赏识。在1987年成为美联储的访问学者后,伯南克就再也没有离开过金融管理岗位。由于从费城联邦储备银行到纽约联邦储备银行达10年的实际工作经验积累,加上斐然的学术成就背景,伯南克在2002年被选拔为美联储委员会成员,3年之后,接替格林斯潘出任美联储主席。不过,伯南克并没有能像前任那样赶上美国经济大红大紫时的幸运,反而在任职不久即遭遇到了百年一遇的金融危机。伯南克挂帅的美联储在金融海啸之中扬起了宽松货币政策的樯橹。短短15个月内,伯南克将联邦基准利率从5.25%降至0,同时大胆进行公开市场操作注入流动性。不仅如此,伯南克力谏国会通过了7000亿美元的大规模救市计划,并在危机之后力举强化对金融机构的监管,使得号称美国历史上最严厉的金融监管法案尘埃落定。虽然这些激进的政策主张让伯南克招来了许多诟病,却让美国经济“避免了另一次大萧条”(奥巴马语)。为此,伯南克被美国《时代》周刊推选为2009年度人物,美国国会在2009年也给予了伯南克19.67万美元的最高奖金。当然,领过奖之后的伯南克还须面对如今美国经济的现实。美国经济形势异常不明朗。总体经济会持续复苏,但是复苏步伐却非常缓慢,即便是在通胀还是通缩的问题上,美联储也没有太明晰的判断。正因如此,在前不久国会听证会上,伯南克坦承对下一步的政策难以把握。不过,话虽这么说,伯南克还是要作出对政策方向的明确选择。出版图书播报编辑通货膨胀目标制作者名称 本·伯南克作品时间2006-6《通货膨胀目标制》东北财经大学出版社出版,作者本·S.伯南克/托马斯·劳巴克/弗雷德里克·S.米什金/亚当·S.波森。经济贡献播报编辑本·伯南克任美联储主席如果美国经济真的已经走向复苏,有几个人必定会记入历史的,除了保尔森,美联储主席本·伯南克也是这样的一个人,如今伯南克被广泛认为是美国摆脱经济低迷最大的功臣,在保尔森早已离开美国的政治舞台,伯南克还在为美国进一步摆脱低迷走向复苏发挥他的作用。纵观这场影响深远的美国金融危机,保尔森和伯南克联手上演了拯救大兵美国的一幕经常可以看到,2008年1月10号,伯南克发表这一年首次以经济为主题的演讲,暗示他将拿出应对经济下行的杀手锏:降息,美国股市全线上扬,一周之后,伯南克又说美国经济增长将放缓,美国股市又应声下跌。在股市一扬一跌的表现中,美国金融业也迎来了不平静的一年,2008年3月,伯南克领导的美联储宣布向贝尔斯登注资300亿美元,换来摩根大通对贝尔斯登的收购,但贝尔斯登的命运没能让伯南克意识到,美国的全面金融危机和经济衰退即将到来。在被问及“是否相信美国陷入衰退”的问题时,伯南克说:“我不知道,并且我不知道是否如此,实际上我非常确信,那些将正式对此作出决断的人,实际上也不清楚。我还是认为,我不宜在这个技术性术语上做太多纠缠。我认为很清楚的是,经济增长已经放缓,劳动力市场已经减弱,对于很多普通家庭来说,条件变得艰难。”2008年9月15号,拥有150年历史雷曼宣布破产,美国全面金融危机的序幕也由此拉开,此后美国政府推出了7000亿美元救市计划,正是伯南克和保尔森为这个计划忙前忙后。他说:“假如信贷市场不能正常运转失业人员将增加,更多房屋所有人会丧失抵押房屋赎回权,GDP增长将放缓,即便再采取其它任何措施,美国经济也无法以正常的、健康的方式复苏,因此我认为实施这项金融援助计划是美国经济健康发展的前提条件。”雷曼倒下了,随后美国银行宣布收购美林,避免了另一个雷曼悲剧的上演,之后伯南克又多次宣布注资美国国际集团AIG,帮助这家保险巨头度过危机,但美国经济的整体状况依旧不见起色,这一年,伯南克作为美联储主席,为对抗美国经济衰退而忙碌,但他究竟扮演了怎样的角色,发挥了多大的作用,2008年没有答案,不过没能预见美国经济衰退、放任雷曼破产、向美国银行施压收购美林等针对他和保尔森的批评声却延续到了2009年,2009年6月25号,伯南克走进国会,就他在美国银行收购美林的交易中的角色问题接受质询。“我认为美联储在美国银行收购美林公司的整个谈判过程中保持了最高的公正性 我没有威胁会采取任何行动 美联储也没有关于这次收购与政府援助挂钩的任何承诺。”他说。“如果我的提名获得通过我首先要做的就是维持格林斯潘任内建立的政策的延续性 。”在2005年10月24号,伯南克被任命为美联储新一任主席所说的话,那么他要延续的格林斯潘的政策到底是什么?从1987年8月到2006年1月担任美联储主席期间,格林斯潘一直被视为华尔街自由市场经济领袖,他反对政府加强金融监管,认为金融市场的自我监管比政府监管更为有效。但就像巴菲特等投资大师所说的那样,不被监管的“自由”会付出巨大代价,事实证明的确如此,金融危机让格林斯潘走下了神坛,而如果不是金融危机,伯南克也许还会继续格林斯潘“自由监管”的政策,但正是危机让伯南克改变了思路,他和保尔森都这些昔日信奉自由市场观点的人士,开始确信华尔街运转糟糕,只有政府才能让一切变得正常。这也正是在各种批评声不绝于耳的情况下,奥巴马和大多数市场人士都支持他留任美联储主席一个很重要的原因。奥巴马:伯南克是一个对经济大萧条起因有着深入研究的专家,我敢肯定他本人此前也从未想过,他在有生之年还会遇到第二次萧条,并且还是作为决策者的一员来应对这样的危机,伯南克拥有深厚的专业背景、过人的勇气和创造力,有能力来完成作为美联储主席的使命,我认为他是担任下一任美联储主席的最佳人选。不出意外,未来四年伯南克还要呆在美联储主席的位子上,继续为美国经济掌舵,但他可能不会成为像前任那样“一打喷嚏,全球就得下雨”的美联储主席,而是一个“他一打喷嚏,美国经济会有问题”的角色,也许人们还会担忧,过去一年多美联储应对市场的行动会造成流动性泛滥,为日后可能的通货膨胀埋下隐忧。但美国人会更希望从他的口中听到更多对市场的乐观表白。伯南克:从技术角度看美国经济衰退很可能已经结束,尽管眼下的经济形势看上去依然疲弱,因为很多人发现自己的工作保障或是就业状况并非尽如人意。美国联邦储备委员会主席本·伯南克2011年4月29日表示,美国经济整体上延续温和复苏的势头,但与理想的复苏状态仍有较大差距,房地产市场成为拖累美国经济复苏的重要因素。伯南克当天在弗吉尼亚州举办的一个社区经济研讨会上发言时指出,美国经济活动持续扩张,就业市场出现改善迹象,但失业率依旧高企,而且将近一半的失业者为失业时间长达27周以上的长期失业者,止赎房产数量居高不下,这些都给美国的社区经济发展造成了冲击。伯南克说,在美国很多社区,高企的止赎房产数量造成了房价下跌以及家庭财富缩水,仅在2007年至2009年间,美国就有超过五分之三的家庭出现大面积财富缩水,成为制约美国税源增加、经济复苏和社区经济发展的风险。他指出,要解决美国经济复苏面临的挑战,首先要深入了解这些挑战,美联储已加大了在这方面的调研力度,并鼓励社区银行向个人及中小企业提供创业贷款等做法来支持社区经济振兴。根据美国劳工部的数据,2011年3月美国失业率为8.8%。美联储预计,2012年美国失业率将位于8.4%至8.7%之间,依旧是金融危机前的将近两倍。美联储理事丹尼尔·塔鲁洛2010年12月在美国会作证时预测,2011年美国新增止赎房产数量将达到250万套,2012年新增止赎房产数量将达到240万套。央行讲话播报编辑市场猜测2011年8月26日全球央行在美国怀俄明州杰克逊城再次聚首,召开例行年会。北京时间2011年8月26日晚22:00,美联储主席伯南克将在此次“央行派对”上发表有关经济与货币政策的重要演讲,伯南克会否释放美国第三轮量化宽松政策(QE3)的信号成为全球金融市场的关注焦点。市场猜测主要集中在三点:暗示QE3、对QE3没有任何暗示、以及推出变相QE3。基于经济持续恶化,美国国债收益率持续创新低,显示交易者预期美联储主席伯南克将暗示展开第三轮资产购买行动(QE3),以进一步扶助经济增长。一旦实施量化宽松政策,美联储印钞购买国债,这将打压公债收益率,并鼓励投资者在其他市场寻求更高的回报,股市等风险资产将走高。货币供应增加将削弱美元的价值,推高黄金(1773.90,10.70,0.61%)价格。2011年8月19日,美国公布的消费者物价指数(CPI)显示,6月美国CPI月率上升0.5%,较经济学家预估中值上升0.2%高出一倍多。通胀数据上升可能将让反对类似措施的美联储理事们讲话更有底气。如果出现此种情况,美元将加速反弹,股市等风险资产价格将再遭打压。对于黄金价格,经济前景忧虑和金融市场动荡,在再度对黄金形成支撑。基于经济形势与通胀的综合考虑,一刀切的政策恐不适宜。有鉴于此,市场预期,美联储可能推出折中的刺激政策,也就是所谓的变相QE3。2011年8月9日,美国联邦公开市场操作委员会就一系列“额外宽松工具”进行了广泛的讨论,市场普遍预计,伯南克在全球央行年会上的讲话重点也将围绕这一议题,而非直接退出QE3这么简单。经济学家指出,伯南克可以提出几个替代选项:一是把到期短期国债的本金拿来买进更长期的国债,二也是买进较长期的国债,但以到期抵押债券的本金来购买,三是全力卖掉短期债券,改买较长期的国债。另外,还有经济学家认为,美联储还可以调降银行存放在美联储的超额准备金利率,有助鼓励银行扩大放款,而不是把资金放在美联储。高盛集团(Goldman Sachs)则预计,伯南克此次讲话将围绕三个方面展开:讨论美联储下调美国经济预期的问题,捍卫以往实施的政策,同时罗列宽松货币政策的选项。其中,将把焦点主要集中于美联储资产负债表组成情况的变化。若出现此种情况,实质也是维持货币供应量和超低利率,本质上也会打压美元,推高风险资产价格。但对市场的影响,还需考虑到投资者对变相QE3方案的认可度。若投资者认为此举无法扭转经济,风险资产仍将遭抛售,届时避险情绪的升温将推高美元。但若投资者认可此种方案,股市将走高,避险需求将减弱,美元将承压。讲话内容2011年8月26日早间,MarketWatch头条刊文《伯南克讲话中或涵盖五大内容》,全文摘要如下:美联储主席伯南克将会在2011年8月26日于美国怀俄明州杰克逊霍尔举行的世界央行年会上发布讲话。是市场投资者主要关注的焦点。业界分析师指出,在该讲话中,伯南克或涵盖以下五个方面的内容:1.美联储会否购买更多的债券?毫无疑问,答案是显而易见的。伯南克曾向美国国会表示,对这一问题持开放性态度。2.美联储会否延长其债券组合的到期时间?某些分析师认为,伯南克在7月提及了该问题,并谈论了有关在2002年延长债券组合的到期时间。3.美联储会减少向银行支付的利息吗?这同样是美联储当前面临的选择之一。4.美联储会为通胀设定目标吗?事实上,这是一个政策选择,将有利于鹰派,而鸽派人士并不会赞同。5.经济的发展趋势究竟是怎样?在过去多次声明和讲话中,美联储未真正对这一问题发表过其看法。外界评论首先,他承认美联储“调低了其对经济增长可能速度的预期”。自然,伯南克并未对最初过于乐观表示歉意,不过美联储对于预测失误的借口令人意外。要怪就怪银行吧!按照伯南克的说法,“金融压力”显著拖累了经济,而“金融机构承受的财务压力”正在影响放贷。真的吗?除了美国银行(Bank of America)最近的穷折腾,金融业的状况称得上颇为健康。在美国联邦存款保险公司(FDIC)覆盖的7513家银行中,上一季度的净利润同比提高了三分之一,实现盈利的金融机构的比例增加了6个百分点,达到85%。在此期间贷款总量保持稳定,这实在不算是灾难。此外,银行业还表示乐于放款,只是没有需求。伯南克还批评,房屋价格不振是经济增长一直迟缓的原因之一。然而这远非意外。伯南克讲话透露出的第二点信息是,除了设置稳定的低利率之外,显然“支撑经济长期有力增长的多数经济政策并不在央行的职权范围”。美联储的确不能包办所有事,但此话让人不满,因为它没有提到美联储很可能已经以某种方式伤害了长期增长:忽视资产泡沫。虽然伯南克对此只字未提,但他说了很多。货币政策播报编辑支持货币宽松伯南克讲话导致白银上涨2013年1月14日,伦敦银出现大幅上涨,最高价触及31.16,最低价下探至30.36,收报于31.02,较上一交易日上涨0.58,涨幅达到1.91%。期银【1306】在低开之后出现小幅上涨,最高价为6492,最低价为6409,最终收报于6479,较上一交易日上涨10,涨幅为0.15%,持仓量为219878。北京时间1月15日凌晨,美联储主席伯南克在密歇根大学杰拉德福特公共政策学院发表讲话。可以说,作为美联储12月会议纪要公布后的首次露面,伯老此次讲话在事先受到了市场的广泛关注。从其讲话内容看,伯南克依然相对倾向于继续维系现今的宽松政策,而这其实与市场此前的预期出入不大。受此影响美指出现小幅下滑,白银大幅上行。美国芝加哥联储主席埃文斯在2014年1月14日表示,美联储(FED)于2012年决定将货币政策与具体经济状况挂钩,应该能够在不让通胀抬头的情况下帮助提振经济复苏。而随后美联储主席伯南克发表的言论也更加倾向于“鸽派”的言论,希望维持现有的货币宽松政策。这对后市金银的上涨将会起到一个不小的推动作用。在白银周线图上显示,白银在经过连续三周震荡运行后,在本周(2013.1.14—2013.1.20)第一个交易日出现大幅上涨,并一举突破135日线在31.00处的重要压力位,并且MACD绿色动能柱略有缩短,KDJ在低位出现背离,周线筑底完成。同时,我们在白银小时图上也可以看到,白银正运行于一个短线的上行通道当中,并且白银在触及31.20附近的高点时,触阻小幅回落,同时MACD红色动能柱继续缩短,白银短期可能面临一波上涨之后的回调。 [7]伯南克表态震动市场 美股大跌黄金创一个月新低。北京时间2013年6月20日凌晨消息,美联储发布声明后,美联储主席伯南克在新闻发布会上发表讲话,称美联储可能会从2013年晚些时候开始逐渐减少量化宽松(QE)规模,并在2014年年中的时候完全结束QE。伯南克的讲话让市场经历了剧烈波动:美国国债收益率飙升,美股大跌,三大股指均跌逾1.1%,金价创一个月新低,美元大涨,日元下跌,日经指数期货在激增后大幅回落,美国信贷市场普遍大幅跳水。美国国债市场收益率飙升,以5年期国债收益率的急涨最为明显,激增至2011年8月以来最高水平,10年期国债收益率触及2.32%:标普500指数波动中大幅下跌,三大股指均跌逾1.1%;金价大跌,触及每盎司1348.50美元,创一个月新低。退出货币宽松美国联邦公开市场委员会(FOMC)于北京时间周四(2013年6月20日)凌晨公布了货币政策声明。随后美联储主席伯南克发表了讲话。而令市场感到意外的是,此次无论是美联储货币政策声明还是伯南克讲话,都一改以往模凌两可的风格,基调变得极为清晰,即只要经济条件满足美联储制定的目标,最早在2013年就有可能退出QE,看来美联储已经意识到了此前由于退出政策的模糊不清造成了金融市场的动荡最终会对美国经济的复苏进程产生影响,因此在市场的“逼宫行动”之下,美联储此次迫不得已一改往日的风格,明确给出了未来可能的退出时间。 [8]在此次会议上,FOMC决定将基准利率维持不变,符合市场广泛预期;同时继续预计FOMC很可能至少在失业率仍旧维持在6.5%上方、通胀率在未来一两年时间里较FOMC的2%长期目标高出不超过0.5个百分点、以及长期通胀预期仍旧十分稳定的条件下维持极低利率。FOMC同时决定维持资产购买计划的规模不变,并表示将在就业市场或通胀前景发生变化时提高或降低资产购买计划的步速,以维持合适的政策融通性。美联储清晰表述饱含深意而此前美联储之所以故意模糊退出政策的表述,可能是因为退出成本十分的高昂,美联储为将来顺利退出转嫁退出成本的重要手段。周四在货币政策清晰表述后,美国国债收益率和短期利率市场的大幅飙升已经很好的说明了这一点,这也表明美联储在和金融市场的博弈当中,最终败下阵来。未来美联储退出策略看来绝对不是一番风顺的,必将历经波折。但是从另一个角度看,这或许也说明了美联储的未来经济复苏前景是抱有一定信心的,尤其是在完成关键目标上,即降低失业率和控制通胀水平上。这在只有未来美国经济全面复苏,2013美国国债市场的异动才会自动修正,国债收益率才能回归至正常水平,才不会令美联储未来面临“进退两难”的境地。但是就目前来看,美国经济的整体状况只能用弱势复苏来形容,周四(2013年6月20日)公布的房市、制造业等数据好于预期,但美国劳工部(DOL)最新公布的上周美国初请失业金人数增长超过预期,这表明就业数据依旧没有摆脱反复状态。而另一大美联储关键标尺通胀水平也远离既定目标。所以必须认识到的是,不管其他经济指标表现如何强劲,失业率和通胀没能到达美联储既定目标之前,美联储是不会采取实质性的退出动作的。全球最大债券基金公司太平洋投资管理公司(PIMCO)首席执行官MohamedEl-Erian日前撰文称,隔夜金融市场反应重演了首次提到退出政策的情形。El-Erian在文中写道,固定收益品种、股票和商品市场几乎集体迎来投资者的抛售潮。一些市场的流动性蒸发还导致更凌乱的价格震荡。市场激烈的反应彰显投资者对于美联储要减少经济支持力度的忧虑。隔夜市场表现基本上重演了几周前美联储首次提到放缓QE的一幕。很多人会因此推测,美联储如果拒绝回头,坚持此前的言论,就是在承担预计到的风险。El-Erian认为美联储官员当前最需要做的是要有序地消除正在走高的过剩风险。El-Erian预计,市场要调整适应新的三重夹击:流动性、风险和期限价差。更高的波动性也会加重避险情绪,包括降低经纪商累积库存和大范围投资者回流本国的兴趣。El-Erian预计,日后市场的波动会更大,流动性错配也会越发严重。未来金融市场波动可能更大同时美联储在发布会议决议的同时也发布了未来三年间的经济状况预估报告。报告内容喜忧兼有。美联储下调了2013年度经济增速前景预期,原因可能是因而短期的经济受到了美国政府财政紧缩措施的冲击,但中长期前景仍然看好。因此从经济基本面角度上看,这降低了2013年启动退出的可能性,反而选择2014年退出对于美联储来说可能是一个更加好的时机。而在政策声明中提到的2013年9月份退出,可能有两方面的原因,一方面美联储急于终结当前金融市场的混乱情况,另一方面也是为自己的退出进行的提前预演,观察一下在退出预期之下金融市场的表现。为真正的退出制定切实可行的方案,即以最小的代价实现平稳退出。需要特别留意的是,市场和美联储更依赖持续显示实体经济真正稳步好转的迹象。这些迹象包括此后实际及预期名义GDP增长上升。在这种情况下,关注焦点将转移到将要公布的6月非农就业数据,市场对于数据的反应会较以往更为敏感,再鉴于未来一段时间美国金融市场可能因海外热钱回流而产生的流动性过剩的状况来看,未来金融市场波动可能交以往更为频繁、波幅可能更大。总之,美联储的退出已经是板上钉钉的事情,接下来的问题是退出时机和方式的问题了。评论:美联储主席伯南克的打算市场正在等一句痛快话,但很显然,美联储主席本·伯南克并不想满足这个愿望。2013年27月18日伯南克向美国国会众议院金融服务委员会发表了一份事先准备好的证词。伯南克称,美联储绝不会预先设定每月850亿美元债券购买计划的缩减进程,如果就业形势恶化、通货膨胀率无法回到美联储设定的2%的目标水平、抑或金融市场形势过紧,美联储可能维持现有购债计划不变,甚至会扩大购买规模。《华尔街日报》称这是迄今为止贝南克发表的观点最为清晰的讲话。这份证词随后被迅速公开传播,并且出现了截然不同的两个版本。路透社的报道称伯南克正准备削减债券购买的规模,这是因为在证词里伯南克的确语调一转,称如果经济形势好于美联储的预期,央行(美联储)可能会加速收缩购债计划。实际上,伯南克发挥了他一贯的特色,那便是对他自己不那么喜欢的事情保持模棱两可的态度。伯南克在此前一直坚持以量化宽松的方式来帮助美国尽快寻求经济复苏。这是美联储实施的第四轮量化宽松。与前三次量化宽松最大的不同是,2012年12月开始的这一轮没有结束的时间表,也没有资产购买的限额配置。伯南克不设立时间表的原因在于如果境况不好,他不需要为是否再次开启下一轮量化宽松而召开一次次无休无止的美联储听证会。此轮量化宽松即将结束的消息开始于2013年5月5日,当天凌晨美元飞涨,其他高息货币在这天兑美元急挫。澳币在5日之前可以兑换1.2元以上的美元,但在这天之后,澳币兑美元降到了1元以下,时至今日,这些高息货币兑美元也都没有走出颓势。市场上截然相反的两种观点正反映了两种完全不同的投资者。那些将风险资产转化成美元的人显然希望量化宽松越早结束越好。这样美元就会一直保有一种升值预期;而那些并未及时兑换美元,或者又重新换回风险资产的投资者显然则希望量化宽松越晚结束越好。量化宽松是一种在利率工具不太能发挥作用时的控制流动性的工具。它让央行得以印钞注入市场,但又因为这些钞票买入了特定的资产而可以将央行的账目表做平。也正是因为美国多次使用这个工具,给全世界的央行树立了一个非常不好的榜样。在此之后,日本、英国以及欧盟都加入了央行干预经济的队列中去。但实际上,央行是货币的守护者,货币是自由的,央行是不应该屈从于政府的旨意的。量化宽松很容易造成资产价格的飞涨,人们会购买更为长期兑现的资产来获得其他的收益。这便是在量化宽松后,原材料的价格都会飞涨的原因。英国已经明确将结束量化宽松,日本还一点迹象也没有。中国表示不会有大规模的刺激政策推出。此前正是因为美联储无限量的注入流动性计划让日元兑美元升高到了一个极为可怕和危险的境地。从长期来看,即便量化宽松结束,美元也不会变得强势。美联储购买的资产会有一批陆续到期,这些资产的规模也比较庞大,以美国政府的实力是没有可能买回这些资产的。届时美元不可能提高利率。量化宽松本来不应该开始,它不可能解决根本的问题,只会让政府的业绩看起来不那么糟糕而已。但比一种本来不应该开始的政策更糟糕的事情是让这个政策在不应该结束的时候结束。本轮量化宽松没有解决失业率的问题,之所以数据表现的更好是他们将更多的没有工作的人计入了无意愿工作的行列(也就是劳动参与率),无意愿工作就不能被统计进失业率的数据—对此伯南克其实是心知肚明的。 [9]路透调查:伯南克任内表现获较高评分路透调查中,受访分析师对他任期内的整体表现给出了颇高的评价。伯南克曾引领美国经济走出史上最严重的金融危机和多年不遇的经济衰退。在伯南克的执掌下,美联储进行了一些重大改革,包括引入定期的记者会制度。以前美联储一度像一座堡垒,甚至都不宣布政策改变。根据该调查,伯南克获得的分析师给分平均为8分,满分为10分,尽管他因未能预先发现隐患而受到指责。Manulife资产管理的首席分析师Bill Cheney表示,伯南克在金融危机前后的表现都基本正确,没有给10分的原因是,他事先未能采取防范措施,比如抵押贷款的监管措施。Cheney是53位打分的分析师中给分较高者之一。Naroff Economic Advisors的Joel Naroff评价伯南克为“优秀的危机管理者,但却未能预见危机。”Naroff称,因为这个原因,他对房市和金融市场崩溃要承担部分责任。尽管美国经济数年前已经走出衰退,但股市在飙升至纪录高位的同时却并未带动经济增长率上升,也未能惠及数以百万计的失业人口;而美国房市终于开始复苏,但坐拥大量现金的企业却并没有进行投资。 [10]伯南克动真格,美联储宣布缩减QE伯南克可能终于让投资者相信,量化宽松(QE)缩减并非“狼来了”。在他担任美联储主席的最后一次联邦公开市场委员会(FOMC)货币政策例会上,伯南克及其团队决定开始逐渐缩减其资产购买规模,但对利率保持严格控制。伯南克在例会结束后召开的新闻发布会上阐述美联储此次决定时指出:“即使经过此番缩减之后,我们还会继续快速扩充我们持有的证券规模。”他数次强调,开始缩减QE并不等同于收紧货币政策。周三,FOMC宣布将其每月债券购买规模减少100亿美元,至750亿美元。具体而言,美联储将把每月抵押贷款支持债券(MBS)的购买规模从400亿美元缩减至350亿美元,同时把每月美国国债的购买规模从450亿美元缩减至400亿美元。在新闻发布会期间,伯南克重申了进一步缩减QE的失业率阈值为6.5%,但达到该阈值并不会自动触发QE缩减。他预计美联储未来将以小步快走的方式逐步缩减QE规模,而利率环境保持宽松状况的时间将会“远远超过”失业率达到阈值的时间,尤其是如果通胀率保持在2%下方。他说,委员会“决心避免通胀率过高或过低。”他表示,因此美联储未来采取的行动将会取决于经济数据,这使得美联储未来加大QE缩减力度甚至再度提高QE规模都有可能。 [11]人物评价播报编辑美国《华尔街日报》:“在经历了一场他未曾预见的金融危机后,美联储主席本·伯南克引导美国避免陷入可能具有毁灭性的恐慌之中。然而时隔五年后,他利用不同寻常的政策帮助美国实现的经济复苏却疲弱得令人沮丧。他所留下的混杂着失败、无畏、执着和沮丧的遗产也将进一步受到外界关注。” [12]新手上路成长任务编辑入门编辑规则本人编辑我有疑问内容质疑在线客服官方贴吧意见反馈投诉建议举报不良信息未通过词条申诉投诉侵权信息封禁查询与解封©2024 Baidu 使用百度前必读 | 百科协议 | 隐私政策 | 百度百科合作平台 | 京ICP证030173号 京公网安备110000020000

Ben S. Bernanke | Federal Reserve History

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Ben S. Bernanke

Ben S. Bernanke

Chairman, Board of Governors, 2006–2014

Governor, Board of Governors, 2002–2005

Ben Bernanke began a second term as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in February 2010. He originally took office as chairman in February 2006, when he also began a fourteen-year term as a member of the Board of Governors. His second term as chairman ended in January 2014 when he was succeeded by Janet Yellen.Bernanke was born in Augusta, Georgia, and grew up in Dillon, South Carolina. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1975 from Harvard University (summa cum laude) and a doctorate in economics in 1979 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Bernanke was an assistant professor of economics at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University from 1979 to 1983 and associate professor of economics there from 1983 to 1985. His teaching career also included serving as a visiting professor of economics at New York University (1993) and at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1989–90).Beginning in 1985, Bernanke was a professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University. From 1994 to 1996, Bernanke was the Class of 1926 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at the university and was then the Howard Harrison and Gabrielle Snyder Beck Professor of Economics and Public Affairs and chair of the Economics Department at the university from 1996 to 2002 before becoming a member of the Board of Governors. Over the years, Bernanke has served the Federal Reserve System in several roles. He was a member of the Board of Governors from 2002 to 2005; a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Banks of Philadelphia (1987–89), Boston (1989–90), and New York (1990–91, 1994–96); and a member of the Academic Advisory Panel at the New York Fed (1990–2002). Before his appointment as chairman of the Board of Governors, Bernanke was chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, from June 2005 to January 2006.As chairman of the Board, Bernanke led the Federal Reserve’s response to the financial crisis of 2006–10 and Great Recession. During his tenure the Federal Reserve took unprecedented steps to implement quantitative easing, a process whereby the central bank purchased billions of dollars of mortgage-backed securities and long-term treasuries to stimulate economic growth. Bernanke has also been credited with enhancing the Federal Reserve’s transparency and communications by holding quarterly press conferences to explain the decisions of the Federal Open Market Committee, providing forward guidance on short-term interest rates, and adopting a formal inflation target of 2 percent. Throughout his career, Bernanke has published many articles on a wide variety of economic issues, including monetary policy and macroeconomics, and he is the author of several scholarly books and two textbooks. He has held a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Sloan Fellowship, and he is a fellow of the Econometric Society and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Bernanke served as the director of the Monetary Economics Program of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and as a member of the NBER’s Business Cycle Dating Committee. In July 2001, he was appointed editor of the American Economic Review. Bernanke’s work with civic and professional groups includes having served two terms as a member of the Montgomery Township (New Jersey) Board of Education.Bernanke is married and has two children.Written by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. See disclaimer.

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Ben Bernanke, former Princeton professor and economics department chair, receives Nobel Prize in economic sciences

Ben Bernanke, former Princeton professor and economics department chair, receives Nobel Prize in economic sciences

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Ben Bernanke, former Princeton professor and economics department chair, receives Nobel Prize in economic sciences

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Oct. 10, 2022, 7:09 a.m.

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Ben Bernanke, a Princeton professor of economics and public affairs from 1985 to 2002, chairman of the economics department from 1996 to 2002, and founder of the Bendheim Center for Finance, is among three winners sharing this year’s Nobel Prize in economic sciences.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2022 to Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig for significantly improving “our understanding of the role of banks in the economy, particularly during financial crises.” The prize amount is 10 million Swedish kroner, about $900,000, divided among the recipients.

"All of us at Princeton know Ben Bernanke to be not only a marvelous scholar but also a generous teacher, beloved colleague, and devoted University citizen," said Princeton President Christopher L. Eisgruber. "By using his path-breaking research, extensive learning, and practical wisdom to help lead America through a difficult financial crisis, Ben has exemplified brilliantly Princeton's commitment to be 'in the nation's service.' The Princeton community joins in congratulating him enthusiastically on this extraordinary and well-deserved honor."

An important finding in the laureates' research is why avoiding bank collapses is vital.

The three laid the foundation of modern banking research in the 1980s. It clarifies why we have banks, how to make them less vulnerable in crises and how bank collapses exacerbate financial crises.

The Nobel Committee wrote: “Their analyses have been of great practical importance in regulating financial markets and dealing with financial crises. For the economy to function, savings must be channeled to investments. However, there is a confiict here: Savers want instant access to their money in case of unexpected outlays, while businesses and homeowners need to know they will not be forced to repay their loans prematurely.”

Dybvig, the Boatmen’s Bancshares Professor of Banking and Finance at Washington University in St. Louis, Olin Business School, was an assistant professor at Princeton from 1980-81.

"This is a wonderful prize,” said Wolfgang Pesendorfer, the Theodore A. Wells ’29 Professor of Economics and economics department chair. “The three authors were instrumental in shaping our understanding of financial intermediation and its connection to macroeconomic fluctuations. I am, of course, most excited about the award to our former colleague Ben Bernanke. His 1983 paper on the Great Depression is a landmark contribution where he convincingly establishes the centrality of bank failures to the Great Depression. More broadly, his research demonstrates the importance of the financial sector for propagating and amplifying economic crisis, a view that was vindicated during the financial crisis from 2007-08 and the following Great Recession.”

In a press conference held at the Brookings Institution, where Bernanke is currently Distinguished Fellow in Residence, Economic Studies, Bernanke said his cell phone was turned off early this morning, and that he first learned of the news when his daughter in Chicago called him on his landline.

“I am incredibly honored, of course, to be a co-winner,” he said. “It was completely unexpected. … I am very happy to be sharing this prize with Douglas Diamond and Phil Dybvig, whose work on bank runs was very seminal, had a big impact on me in the early ’80s when I was working on these issues.”

Bernanke gave special mention to his collaborators, including Mark Gertler, the Henry & Lucy Moses Professor and professor of economics at New York University. He also cited later historical work he completed with Harold James, Princeton's Claude and Lore Kelly Professor in European Studies and professor of history and international affairs, examining countries with banking crises in the 1930s. He and James discovered that those countries where the gold standard prevailed, which meant they had inflationary and monetary contractions, suffered the most in terms of output and employment.

Bernanke was a member of the Federal Reserve Board starting in 2002 and served as its chair from 2006 to 2014, helping shape and guide economic and monetary policy. He also was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from 2005 to 2006.

After teaching at Stanford Graduate School of Business from 1979 to 1985, Bernanke joined the Princeton faculty as a professor of economics and public affairs. In 1994, he was named the Class of 1926 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs. He became economics department chair in 1996 and also was named the Howard Harrison and Gabrielle Snyder Beck Professor of Economics and Public Affairs that same year. He took public service leave from Princeton in 2002, when he joined the Federal Reserve Board, and resigned in 2005.

Markus Brunnermeier, the Edward S. Sanford Professor of Economics and director of the Bendheim Center, said Bernanke left his mark on Princeton’s economics department as chair, making many important hires throughout the 1990s, including fellow Nobel laureates Paul Krugman (2008), professor of economics and international affairs, emeritus, and Christopher Sims (2011), the John J.F. Sherrerd ’52 University Professor of Economics, Emeritus.

“Ben was foundational in shaping the economics department at Princeton,” Brunnermeier said. “He put a lot of energy into building up the department and founded the Bendheim Center. In this way, he not only pushed the research frontier in economics and finance, but also others’ research at Princeton University. He had a big impact on the profession.”

A toast, from Bendheim Center and economics colleagues

Brunnermeier, Sims, Pesendorfer and Alan Blinder, the Gordon S. Rentschler Memorial Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, were among those who attended a champagne toast honoring Bernanke at the Bendheim Center on Monday afternoon.

Several of those in attendance shared personal recollections of their work and their interactions with Bernanke.

“We remember him extremely fondly as a model of a department chair,” Pesendorfer said. “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy, so I’m extremely excited to celebrate this prize.”

Blinder, who played a prominent role in recruiting Bernanke to Princeton and who preceded Bernanke as a vice chairman of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve, said he felt fortunate having him as a colleague and a co-author at Princeton. He recalled recruiting Bernanke as “this young kid out of Stanford Business School,” remarking that he was a “superstar” even as a graduate student.

“I was bowled over by young Ben Bernanke's early work, and did everything I could to attract him to Princeton, where he fit perfectly and was very productive as a scholar,” Blinder said. “I practically cried when he left, though it was certainly for a good cause!"

Bernanke remains chair of the Bendheim Center Advisory Council. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard in 1975 and a Ph.D. in 1979 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Princeton awarded him an honorary degree during 2016 Commencement exercises. He was the University's 2013 Baccalaureate speaker. 

The laureate joins a number of other Princeton faculty and alumni who have been awarded Nobel Prizes.

Images of Bernanke at Princeton are available for use by media. His Baccalaureate address and honorary degree citation are available for viewing on Princeton's YouTube channel.

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Ben Bernanke PhD ’79 awarded a share of the Nobel Prize in economic sciences

Ben Bernanke PhD ’79 awarded a share of the Nobel Prize in economic sciences

MIT alumnus and two others honored for research on the role of banks in the economy, including during financial crises.

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Ben Bernanke PhD ’79 has been awarded a share of the 2022 Nobel Prize in economic sciences. A former chair of the Federal Reserve Board, he is now a distinguished fellow in residence at the Brookings Institution.

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Ben S. Bernanke PhD ’79, an economist who applied his scholarly experience to his work as chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve during the economic and financial-sector crisis of 2008-2009, has been awarded a share of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2022, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced today.

Bernanke, who received his doctorate from MIT’s Department of Economics, has won the award along with Douglas W. Diamond, an economics professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and Philip H. Dybvig, an economics professor at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in Saint Louis.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited Bernanke’s work showing how, during the Great Depression of the 1930s, bank runs exacerbated the crisis by limiting the banking sector’s capacity to act. After many banks collapsed, the Nobel citation states, “valuable information about borrowers was lost and could not be recreated quickly. Society’s ability to channel savings to productive investments was thus severely diminished.”

That research appears in a 1983 paper, “Nonmonetary Effects of the Financial Crisis in the Propagation of the Great Depression,” published in the American Economic Review.

Bernanke received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University. After completing his doctoral work at MIT, Bernanke served on the faculty at Stanford University and then Princeton University, before joining the U.S. Federal Reserve Board in 2002, and then serving from 2005 to 2006 as chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush. He served as chair of the Federal Reserve Board from 2006 to 2014. Since 2014, he has been a distinguished fellow in residence at the Brookings Institution.

During the 2020-21 academic year, Bernanke also served as a distinguished senior fellow at the Golub Center for Finance and Policy of the MIT Sloan School of Management.  

Bernanke’s doctoral thesis, titled “Long-Term Commitments, Dynamic Optimization, and the Business Cycle,” was completed with fomer MIT professor Stanley Fischer as his principal faculty advisor, with former MIT professor Rudiger Dornbusch and Institute Professor Emeritus Robert Solow serving as the second and third readers.

Through 2022, eight people have won the Nobel Prize for economic sciences while serving on the MIT faculty, while 13 MIT alumni and eight former MIT faculty have also won the award.

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CNNBen Bernanke PhD ’79, former chair of the Federal Reserve, has been awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in economic sciences, reports Allison Morrow for CNN. Bernanke “received the award for his research on the Great Depression,” says Morrow. “In short, his work demonstrates that banks’ failures are often a cause, not merely a consequence, of financial crises.”

Full story via CNN →

The Washington PostWashington Post reporter David Lynch highlights the work of Ben S. Bernanke PhD ’79, one of the recipients of this year’s Nobel Prize in economic sciences, who was honored for his research on the role banks play during financial turmoil. “Bernanke demonstrated that bank failures — rather than resulting from the downturn — were responsible for making it so deep and so long. When banks collapsed, valuable information about borrowers disappeared, making it difficult for new institutions to channel savings to productive investments,” notes Lynch.

Full story via The Washington Post →

Associated PressBen S. Bernanke PhD ’79 has been honored as one of the recipients of this year’s Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences, reports the Associated Press. Bernanke was recognized for his work examining the Great Depression and “showing the danger of bank runs — when panicked people withdraw their savings — and how bank collapses led to widespread economic devastation,” notes the AP.

Full story via Associated Press →

ForbesBen Bernanke PhD ’79 has won a share of the 2022 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on banks and financial crises, reports Micahel T. Nietzel for Forbes. Bernanke and his fellow winners are credited with significantly improving “our understanding of the role of banks in the economy, particularly during financial crises,” says The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Full story via Forbes →

New York TimesThe 2022 Nobel Prize in economic sciences was awarded in part to Ben S. Bernanke PhD ’79 for his research showing that “bank failures can propagate a financial crisis rather than simply be a result of the crisis,” reports Jeanna Smialek for The New York Times. When asked about his advice for younger economists, Bernanke noted “one of the lessons of my life is, you never know what is going to happen.”

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Ben Bernanke was the chair of the board of governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014. Bernanke took over the helm from Alan Greenspan on Feb. 1, 2006, ending Greenspan's 18-year leadership at the Fed.

A former Fed governor, Bernanke was chair of the U.S. President's Council of Economic Advisors prior to being nominated as Greenspan's successor in late 2005.

Key Takeaways

Ben Bernanke is a former Federal Reserve chair, serving from 2006 to 2014.As Fed chair, Bernanke oversaw the central bank's response to the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession.Bernanke succeeded Alan Greenspan and was replaced by Janet Yellen.Bernake introduced several strategies, including quantitative easing, to boost the U.S. economy during the 2008 recession.Critics argue that Bernake flooded the economy with too much money, contributing to inflation and increased debt.

Investopedia / Alison Czinkota

Early Life and Education

Born Benjamin Shalom Bernanke on Dec. 13, 1953, he is the son of a pharmacist and a schoolteacher and was raised in South Carolina. A high-achieving student, Bernanke completed his undergraduate degree summa cum laude at Harvard University and then completed his Ph.D. at MIT in 1979.

He taught economics at Stanford and then at Princeton University, where he chaired the department until 2002 when he left his academic work for public service. He officially left his post at Princeton in 2005.

Notable Accomplishments

Bernanke was first nominated as chair of the Fed by President George W. Bush in 2005. He had been appointed to President Bush's Council of Economic Advisors earlier the same year, which was widely seen as a test run for succeeding Greenspan as chair.

In 2009, President Barack Obama nominated him for a second term as chair. He was succeeded by Janet Yellen as chair in 2014. Before serving his two terms as chair of the Federal Reserve, Bernanke was a member of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors from 2002 to 2005.

Economic Contributions

Ben Bernanke was instrumental in stimulating the U.S. economy after the 2008 banking crisis that sent the economy into a downward spiral. He took an aggressive and experimental approach to restore confidence in the financial system.

One of the multiple strategies that the Fed applied to curb the global crisis was enacting a low-rate policy to stabilize the economy. Under the tutelage of Bernanke, the Fed slashed the benchmark interest rates near to zero. By reducing the federal funds rate, banks lend each other money at a lower cost, and in turn, can offer low-interest rates on loans to consumers and businesses.

$16.2 trillion

The total net worth American households lost between 2007 and 2009 of the Great Recession.

As conditions worsened, Bernanke proposed a quantitative easing program. The quantitative easing scheme involved the unconventional purchase of Treasury bond securities and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to increase the money supply in the economy. By purchasing these securities on a large scale, the Fed increased the demand for them, which led to an increase in the prices. Since bond prices and interest rates are inversely related, interest rates fell in response to the higher prices. The lower interest rates reduced the financing costs for business investments, hence improving a business’ financial position. By bolstering operations and activities, businesses were able to create more jobs, which contributed to a reduction in the unemployment rate.

Bernake's Bail Outs

Ben Bernanke also helped to curb the effects of the rapidly deteriorating economic conditions by bailing out several troubled big financial institutions. While the Fed underwrote the decision to let Lehman Brothers fail, they bailed out companies, such as AIG Insurance, due to the higher risk that the bailed-out companies posed if they went bankrupt.

In the case of AIG, Bernanke believed that the company’s huge liability was solely isolated in its financial products which involved hundreds of billions of dollars in derivatives speculation. If the company lost out on its speculative position on these derivatives, it would not have sufficient funds to pay out or cover its losses. For companies like Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns, the Federal Reserve incentivized Bank of America and JPMorgan to purchase and take over both companies by guaranteeing the bad loans of the troubled banks.

Published Works

In 2013, Bernake released The Federal Reserve and the Financial Crisis, a compilation of his lectures about the history of the Federal Reserve and the financial crisis of 2008. It features his insights on the Fed's activities, decisions, and responses to events.

Two years later, he published The Courage to Act: A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath, chronicling his experiences as the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board and exposed how close the global economy came to collapsing in 2008, stating that it would have done so had the Federal Reserve and other agencies not taken extreme measures. President Barack Obama has also stated that Bernanke's actions prevented the financial crisis from becoming as bad as it could have been. However, Bernanke has also been the subject of critics who claim he didn't do enough to foresee the financial crisis.

Legacy

Although Bernanke’s actions were indelible to the recovery of the global economy, he faced criticism for the approaches that he took to achieve this recovery. Economists criticized his pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy through the bond-purchase program which potentially increased individual and corporate debt, and led to inflation. In addition to these economists, legislators also criticized his extreme measures and opposed his re-appointment as Federal Reserve Chair in 2010. President Barack Obama, however, reappointed him for a second term.

As of August 2022, Ben Bernanke is currently serving as an economist at the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public organization based in Washington, DC, where he provides advice on fiscal and monetary policies. He also serves as a senior advisor to Citadel.

What Boards Did Ben Bernake Serve on?

After stepping down as the chair of the board of governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Ben Bernake served as a member of the Montgomery Township Board of Education in New Jersey for two years and is now an economist for the Brookings Institution and advisor for financial services firm Citadel.

What Did Ben Bernake Do During the Financial Crisis?

To counter the effects of the financial crisis of 2008, Bernake employed a low-rate policy—whereby rates were reduced to practically nothing—and a quantitative easing plan to increase the money supply. Bernake also bailed out many large, failing financial institutions.

To What Economic School of Thought Does Ben Bernake Belong?

Ben Bernake belongs to the Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz school of thought. Bernake subscribed to the principle that the Federal Reserve Board could reduce inflation and revitalize the economy by increasing the money supply at the same rate as the gross national product (GNP).

The Bottom Line

Ben Bernake, the former two-term chair of the Federal Reserve, is largely regarded for implementing strategies that saved the U.S. economy. His methods, albeit somewhat controversial, led to an increase in U.S. jobs, the bailout of well-known, established financial institutions, and a robust economy. His actions were not exempt from scrutiny, however, as there were a host of critics who believed his actions were more detrimental than good. Despite varying opinions, Bernake remains in high demand as an economist and advisor and is esteemed as one of the most influential Fed chairs in history.

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Federal Reserve History. "Ben S. Bernanke."

David Wessel. "In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic," Pages 67, 69. Three Rivers Press, 2010.

The Brookings Institution. "Ben S. Bernanke."

Princeton University. "Faculty Comment on Bush’s Choice of Bernanke for Fed Chair."

U.S. Congress. "PN1025 — Ben S. Bernanke — Federal Reserve System."

Princeton University. "Bush Chooses Bernanke to Head Economic Council."

The White House: The Obama Administration. "The Nomination of Ben Bernanke."

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. "Regulatory Reform: Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) Purchase Program."

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. "Household Financial Stability: Who Suffered the Most from the Crisis?"

The New York Times. "Revisiting the Lehman Brothers Bailout That Never Was."

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. "Regulatory Reform: American International Group (AIG), Maiden Lane II and III."

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. "Regulatory Reform: Bear Stearns, JPMorgan Chase, and Maiden Lane LLC."

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. "Acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America."

Princeton University Press. "The Federal Reserve and the Financial Crisis."

Wiley Online Library. "Ben Bernanke's The Courage to Act: A Review Essay."

PBS NewsHour. "Tough Criticism for Bernanke."

Citadel. "Dr. Ben S. Bernanke."

The Federal Reserve Board. "Remarks by Governor Ben S. Bernanke At the Conference to Honor Milton Friedman, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, November 8, 2002: On Milton Friedman's Ninetieth Birthday."

Related Terms

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Alan Greenspan was the 13th chair of the Federal Reserve, appointed to an unprecedented five consecutive terms between mid-1987 and early 2006.

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Credit Easing: What it Means, How it Works, Criticisms

Credit easing is used to relieve a market going through turmoil. Credit easing happens when central banks purchase private assets such as corporate bonds.

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Federal Reserve System: What It Is and How It Works

The Federal Reserve System is the central bank of the United States and provides the nation with a safe, flexible, and stable financial system.

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A dove is an economic policy advisor who favors strategies that maintain low interest rates and other expansionary policies.

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Ben Bernanke among 3 American winners of Nobel Prize in Economics : NPR

Ben Bernanke among 3 American winners of Nobel Prize in Economics : NPR

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Ben Bernanke among 3 American winners of Nobel Prize in Economics Former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and two academic economists — Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig — share this year's Nobel Prize in economics for their work on bank runs.

Economy

Ben Bernanke among 3 American winners of Nobel Prize in economics

October 10, 20227:33 AM ET

Scott Horsley

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Former Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke.

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Former Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke.

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Former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics Monday, along with economists Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig, for their research on bank runs and measures to prevent them. The three will share the prize money of 10 million Swedish kronor, or $886,000. Bernanke, who's now at the Brookings Institution, was recognized for his research on the role of bank failures in deepening and prolonging the Great Depression in the 1930s. He put many of those lessons to work as Fed chairman, pioneering the emergency lending programs that the central bank used to address the financial crisis of 2008-9.

Diamond, who's at the University of Chicago, and Dybvig, who's at Washington University in St. Louis, coauthored an influential paper on the critical role that banks play as financial middlemen, and how that role can be undermined by a mismatch in timing.

Economy

When your seatmate on the plane talks about the Fed, you know things aren't right

Banks help to foster a more productive economy by channeling excess cash from depositors to borrowers in need of money to build homes and factories and businesses. Trouble can arise when depositors want ready access to their cash on short notice, but the money is tied up in long-term assets or investments. "If a rumor starts that people are going to take out their money from the bank, then everyone has an incentive to rush to the bank to take out money in time and not come last in line," John Hassler of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences explained in announcing the prize. "This can create failing banks."

Economy

Memories of the 1970s haunt the Fed, pushing its aggressive rate moves

Governments can prevent bank runs by offering insurance for deposits, requiring banks to hold a minimum amount of cash and by using the Federal Reserve as a lender of last resort. Application of those lessons has helped to lessen the severity of more recent bank runs. "The ideas that we today recognize have proven to be invaluable also in modern times," Hassler said, nodding to Bernanke's role as Fed chairman from 2006 to 2014. "Even though the financial crisis had large consequences, neither that nor the COVID pandemic led to depressions like in the '30s."

Economy

Americans are becoming less productive, and that's a risk to the economy

Speaking to reporters during the Nobel news conference, Diamond said that commercial banks are now better prepared to weather financial downturns. But he cautioned that the mismatch in timing between savers and borrowers will always pose a certain amount of risk that can appear in less regulated corners of the financial system. "I think we will probably always be subject to low-probability, unexpected crises," Diamond said. "The problem is these vulnerabilities of the fear of runs and dislocations and crises can show up anywhere in the financial sector. It doesn't have to be commercial banks."

Nobel Prize in Economics

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Economists win Nobel prize for showing why banks fail

Economists win Nobel prize for showing why banks fail

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10 October 2022

Economists win Nobel prize for showing why banks fail

Ben Bernanke, Philip Dybvig and Douglas Diamond’s work explained how finance greases the wheels of capitalism — and why the system is inherently unstable.

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Three economists have shared the 2022 Nobel prize in economics for their pivotal theory of how banks work and how they fail.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-03235-0

ReferencesDiamond, D. W. & Dybvig, P. H. J. Polit. Econ. 91, 401–419 (1983).Article 

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Bernanke, B. S. Am. Econ. Rev. 73, 257–276 (1983).

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Ben Bernanke's Lessons From 'The Great Inflation' : Planet Money : NPR

Ben Bernanke's Lessons From 'The Great Inflation' : Planet Money : NPR

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Ben Bernanke's Lessons From 'The Great Inflation' : Planet Money In a new book, Ben Bernanke explains how and why the U.S. Federal Reserve has evolved to play such an important role in the economy.

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Ben Bernanke's Lessons From 'The Great Inflation'

May 24, 20226:30 AM ET

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The party's over. Over the last few weeks, asset prices have tumbled, and investors in stocks, bonds, cryptocurrencies — pretty much everything — have been forced to wake up and face the brutal hangover of collapsing fortunes. Who broke up the rager? Largely, it seems, a little institution called the U.S. Federal Reserve, which has begun to raise interest rates and tighten monetary policy in order to wrangle inflation. What a buzzkill. What is this mysterious institution? How has it evolved to play this important role in our society? Why does it, as one former Fed official put it, seek to have "the punch bowl removed" at moments like this? And what happens when it doesn't?

Well, the former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has some answers. Amid the downturn, Bernanke has swooped in and published a new book: 21st Century Monetary Policy: The Federal Reserve from the Great Inflation to COVID-19. They say it's impossible to time the market, but the man seems to have some killer timing. The book offers some important historical insights for the present economic moment. The Great Inflation Bernanke begins his book with a cautionary tale from American history known as "The Great Inflation." For most of the country's history, Bernanke writes, inflation had rarely been a big problem. Sure, the nation had bouts of high inflation. But it was usually around wartime, and the episodes were short-lived. America had never seen a decade-long stretch of high inflation. That changed during the Great Inflation. Stretching from the mid-1960s to the early-1980s, it's a period known for itty bitty shorts and tube socks, roller disco parties, cocaine, long lines at gas stations — and, oh yeah — climbing prices. Between 1965 and 1981, annual inflation averaged more than 7 percent. In 1979 and 1980, average inflation peaked at almost 13 percent a year. In Bernanke's telling, the story of the Great Inflation begins with deficit spending. John F. Kennedy had run for president during a recession and promised to "get America moving again." As president, Kennedy proposed a big tax cut to boost the economy and lower unemployment, which stood at almost 7 percent when he entered office. After Kennedy was assassinated, Lyndon B. Johnson, his successor, followed through with the tax cut, which helped bring unemployment down to 4 percent by the end of 1965. That was the level of unemployment that macroeconomists at the time believed was full employment, or the theoretical threshold when the labor market starts to get so tight that wages and prices start to explode. "From a macroeconomic policy perspective, it would have been a logical moment to ease up on the accelerator, but foreign policy and social goals took priority over economic stability," Bernanke writes.

When President Johnson plunged America even more deeply into the war in Vietnam in 1965, he opened up a firehouse of federal spending. Defense spending rose about 44 percent between 1965 and 1968. America would spend almost $850 billion on the war (in today's dollars). Because the war was already unpopular, Bernanke writes, Johnson was reluctant to support tax increases to pay for it, meaning this was a bunch of new money juicing the economy. At the same time, Johnson launched his War on Poverty and the Great Society programs. This included creating the government healthcare programs Medicare (for elderly Americans) and Medicaid (for low-income Americans), which both began in 1965. "Many Great Society programs would ultimately have important benefits," Bernanke writes, "but they also had the effect of adding further to government spending." All this deficit spending heated up an economy that was already running hot. Military contractors used government money to build guns, bombs, planes, and helicopters. Medical providers used government money on procedures, check-ups, hospital expansions, and so on. This increased demand for labor and materials already in short supply, pushing up the price of everything. By the time President Nixon came into office in 1969, inflation was surging. Nixon continued the inflationfest with policies like an intensification of the Vietnam War, deficit spending, and, as we shall see, sticking his nose where his nose didn't belong: monetary policy. Why The Fed Failed During The Great Inflation Early in his presidency, Richard Nixon appointed a close ally to head the Federal Reserve: Arthur Burns. Often pictured smoking a pipe, Burns was an economist at Columbia University who served as the economic adviser to Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign. "Once Burns was installed at the Fed, Nixon had no reservations about using their relationship to his political advantage," Bernanke writes. "With unemployment having risen during the 1970 recession, the president wanted a strong economy going into the 1972 election." Leaked recordings from the Nixon White House — the so-called Nixon tapes — provide smoking-gun evidence that Nixon directly pressured Burns to stimulate the economy with looser monetary policy (even though a temporary boost in economic growth did not serve the long-term interest of the economy or the public).

We don't know exactly why Burns ended up agreeing to Nixon's demands. Bernanke entertains the possibility that Burns was acting with some personal conviction. Burns apparently believed that the Congress and the President should tackle inflation with more surgical price controls rather than the Fed whacking it with the brute force of higher interest rates. The Nixon administration did, in fact, impose price controls at various times, including on gas. In 1973, when the supply shock of skyrocketing oil prices hit the economy, inflation got worse and so did economic growth. Inflation became stagflation, or inflation combined with stagnating growth, something many economists at the time did not even believe was possible. Nixon's response was to try and cap the price of oil. Bernanke and most other economists blame this policy for creating shortages and infamous lines at gas stations — while also failing to get inflation under control. Whatever the reasons, Burns failed to use the powers of the Fed to end high inflation. Even after it was clear that price controls failed — and even after Nixon resigned — Burns continued to shy away from raising interest rates to the level needed to end inflation, fearing it would cause a deep recession. Instead, he let inflation fester throughout the 1970s, which, Bernanke writes, convinced the public that inflation was here to stay. Companies and workers conducted their business and contract negotiations accordingly. These "inflation expectations," as economists refer to the psychological component of inflation, made price increases even worse. It would take President Jimmy Carter appointing a new Fed chairman, Paul Volcker, in 1979 for the Fed to change tack. "The Fed had lost its credibility as an inflation-fighter, and the challenge for the new chair was to restore it," Bernanke writes. Fiercely independent and often working directly counter to the short-term electoral interests of the president, Volcker waged an epic war against inflation. He ended up raising the Fed's main policy interest rate, the federal funds rate, to almost 20 percent — the highest it's ever been. In doing so, he plunged the nation into a deep, albeit temporary recession. But, Bernanke writes, he also set the stage for decades of stable prices and economic growth.

Then vs Now America is now being forced to reckon with high inflation for the first time since the days of the Great Inflation. Bernanke believes this historical experience offers important lessons for the Fed. First, the Fed needs to take the lead on inflation. Burns had believed that Congress and the President could use policies like price controls to get the job done, which only made the economic situation worse. Second, the Fed should take inflation expectations seriously. It needs to credibly work to keep inflation in check from the start. Kicking the can down the road only allows the psychology of inflation to fester in the minds of the public, forcing future Fed chairs to take even more draconian measures to get it under control (as Paul Volcker was forced to do). Finally, political interference in Fed policy-making can be dangerous. Presidents, like Richard Nixon, have a personal interest in juicing the economy before elections. This interest can run counter to the long-run interest of the economy and the public. And, here, Bernanke has some worries. In his book, he frets about former President Donald Trump's frequent Twitter tirades against Fed Chair Jerome Powell, a man Trump himself had appointed to be Fed chair. More broadly, Bernanke expresses concerns about current political trends. "The rise of populism, with its conspiracy theories and distrust of elites, poses a particular threat to technocratic, nonpartisan institutions like the Fed," he writes. That said, the Fed *is* currently working to end inflation, and, so far, it seems like most people are cool with it. In many ways, the effects — like nosediving asset prices — create a headache. But, if history is any guide, the hangover caused by the alternative sucks even more.

Ben Bernanke

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