The Politics of Fed: Responding to the 2008 Recession

Event End: February 19, 2016 12:00 AM

Event Location: The Lane Room (Ellison 3824)

Desmond King, Andrew W Mellon Professor of American Government, University of Oxford

The paper investigates how the Federal Reserve responded to the Great Recession which hit the housing and financial markets in 2008. Using FOMC minutes and other primary sources, it argues that the Fed devised radical new measures with which to address the crisis – including extending loan terms and relaxing collateral lending standards – and exploited the emergency powers under its Section 13(3) legislative authority. This set of responses differentially assisted the financial sector and not ordinary voters.

PS 595 Credit.