The 2007-2009 Financial Crisis and Central Banks What does the Subprime Crisis teach us about Monetary Policy?

Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Coe, Richard

Keywords

Subprime, Financial Crisis, Monetary Policy

Area of Concentration

Economics

Abstract

This thesis sets out to answer two major questions: was the Federal Reserve to blame, in part or in whole, for the 2007-2009 financial crisis, and what changes should be made to the theory of optimal monetary policy in order to avoid a repeat of the crisis. We survey the conventional theory of optimal monetary policy, as well as the actions of the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank before and in response to the crisis. We consider the possible alternative courses of action and their effects, and we survey the course of the financial crisis itself. Finally, we conclude that, while monetary policy is partially to blame for the crisis, the Federal Reserve itself cannot be significantly faulted for its actions, and that the Federal Reserve and financial regulatory bodies should be combined into a single institution.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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