A Term at the Fed: An Insider's View

by Laurence H. Meyer

Book Overview

As a governor of the Federal Reserve Board from 1996 to 2002, Laurence H. Meyer helped make the economic policies that steered the United States through some of the wildest and most tumultuous times in its recent history. Now, in A Term at the Fed, Governor Meyer provides an insider's view of the Fed, the decisions that affected both the U.S. and world economies, and the challenges inherent in using monetary policy to guide the economy.

When...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060542705
• ISBN13: 9780060542702
• Release Date: July 2004
• Publisher: HarperBusiness
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Informative and Funny

This is a wonderful book -- well-written, funny, and intelligent. Laurence Meyer served as one of the governors of the seven-member Federal Reserve Board, all of whom are appointed by the U.S. president. While Meyer was selected by Clinton and appears to be a Democrat, he was known as an inflation hawk, and was reputed to have clashed with Chairman Greenspan -- something Meyer denies in this book. Meyer served on the board from 1996 to 2002, during the rapid rise and nearly-as-rapid fall of the U.S. stock market, and a period in which numerous international financial crises (Asia, Russia, LTCM, 9/11) took place. This is a unique look at the inner workings of the Fed and can be enjoyed by the general reader.

Provides an excellent historical overview

It's rare that a former governor of the Federal Reserve takes pen in hand to write about Fed politics, policies and economics, which makes Laurence H. Meyer's A Term At The Fed : An Insider's View all the more surprising and important: here former Fed Governor of the Board Meyer provides an intriguing insider's viewpoint of workings behind the scenes at the Fed. The Federal Reserve has been called the most powerful institution in America, but relatively few modern Americans have any inkling of how it operates or makes policy decisions. Meyer's firsthand analysis provides an excellent historical overview and survey of the Fed's operations and should be considered essential reading for any American businessman and/or economist.

Insiders View of Fed

This concise book is a must read for both the casual investor and the seasoned fed watcher. Former Fed Governor Larry Meyer provides the first book length account of the "Secrets of the Temple" as experienced by an actual member of the Open Market Committee. In a jargon-free style, Meyer chronicles the intellectual ferment at the Fed as Alan Greenspan and company struggled to come to terms with the implications of the "New Economy", debated the existence of a stock market bubble and dealt with the calamity of September 11th. Neither a tell-all memoir nor a self-congratulatory tome, Meyer is scrupulously honest in admitting his own mistakes while unstinting in his praise for the wisdom of Chairman Greenspan. Nevertheless, the picture he paints, of a nearly all-powerful Chairman and staff will likely be a cause of concern for those concerned about the performance of a post-Greenspan fed. An excellent book for anyone interested in the economy or the conduct of monetary policy, "A Term at the Fed" should be required reading in all introductory macroeconomics classes.

Term at the Fed: Insightful & Informative

Given Meyer's background as an award-winning macroeconomic forecaster, well-credentialed academic and professor, and six-year member of the Board of Governors of the Fed, it is little surprise that this account of his term at the Fed is truly insightful in several dimensions. Meyer does a skillful job of interpreting the flow of economic events from mid 1996 to early 2002 within the intellectual framework of mainstream economics, a "school" that includes Alan Greenspan and the influential Federal Reserve staff. That this was such an interesting period in U.S. economic history --- including the late 1990s productivity acceleration, the Asian and Russian Crises, the bursting of the equity bubble, and 9/11 --- means there are plenty of potentially confusing cross currents that must be made to fit into a single framework, and Meyer does this clearly and without resort to much jargon.As a long-time professor of monetary economics, Meyer knew well the organization and mechanics of the Fed. What he learned from his time there and reveals in this book is the real functioning of the Fed under Greenspan, especially in its conduct of monetary policy. The chapter entitled "Come with Me to the FOMC" is an interesting and insightful blow-by-blow account of a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the policy-setting body of the Fed. For the advanced student of monetary policy, the book develops the `playbook for monetary policy' in the Greenspan era, putting in context the Fed's "risk management" approach and penchant for "gradualism."After serving closely with Alan Greenspan for nearly six years Meyer has little but praise for Greenspan's abilities as Fed Chairman. While Meyer clearly would adopt a more open and engaged style than Greenspan if he were chairman, he came to respect the Chairman's go-it-alone, no-nonsense, style. If there is a cautionary note it is that any successor to Greenspan would need to quickly establish themselves in the eyes of the other FOMC members and adopt Greenspan's technique of "leading from the middle." It makes finding a Greenspan replacement sound like a rather daunting challenge.Finally it is refreshing to hear the candor and humility with which the tale is told. As a former leading member of what is arguably one of the world's most powerful institutions, he could have been excused for exaggerating his own importance and tooting his own horn. Rather we get an honest description of how he and his colleagues struggled to understand the remarkable performance of the economy in the second half of the 1990s and how it responded to a series of shocks starting in early 2000. A key lesson of that period made clear by this book is that the conduct of monetary policy is far too difficult and far too important to be left to amateurs and that we need more people like Meyer to sit at the big oval table at 20th and C streets.

Educational and witty account of a spectacular Fed term

Years ago, I was intrigued with the idea of "The New Economy" and wanted to educate myself on the topic. I began with Woodward's Maestro, then picked up some textbooks on Macroeconomics, all the while keeping up with the business news. Dr. Laurence Meyer, known as a "hawk," popped up in the news frequently, and caused many Wall Street types to tremble ...which I found very amusing. I also enjoyed his sense of humor, transparency and trustworthy (if not always welcome) insights which turned up in the news as well. This set me up to grab his book when it came out.When "The New Economy" fell apart, I, like everyone else, wondered what happened and where we would go from the wreckage. I've been waiting for this book. Humorous asides that allow one to vicariously enjoy Meyer's trip into "DC land" while studying an account of the economic history taking place during his term, make the book hard to put down. The likable Meyer reveals an endearing humility and strength of character in drawing himself not only as person who is proud of his accomplishments, but one secure enough to share his foibles and fears for the amusement of the reader. Most importantly, Meyer's experience as a professor shines as he magically makes complex economics concepts easier to understand for non experts such as myself. If you want another tome about Greenspan, this one is not going to tell you anything earthshaking or new. But if you are interested in a educational report written by an extremely knowledgeable, intelligent, forthright, and witty man, on the workings of the Fed during an intriguing time in US economics , Meyer's book is for you.