The Bernanke Vision

In this morning's Wall Street Journal, Greg Ip describes the subtle but significant changes Ben Bernanke has ushered in at the Federal Reserve. Here's an extended excerpt that captures the essential points:

When Ben Bernanke was nominated to head the Federal Reserve in 2005, he promised to "maintain continuity with the policies and policy strategies established during the Greenspan years." But in handling his first financial crisis, Mr. Bernanke shows signs of a break with Alan Greenspan, the Fed's chairman from 1987 to 2006.

That shift is important in understanding why Mr. Bernanke hasn't cut the Fed's main interest rate yet, and it could alter investors' expectations of how the Bernanke Fed will function.

The Fed historically has had two major economic duties. Maintaining financial stability is one. Controlling inflation while preventing recession is the other.

To Mr. Greenspan, market confidence and the economy's growth prospects were so intertwined as to make the Fed's two duties almost inseparable. He cut rates after the 1987 stock-market crash and the near-collapse of hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management in 1998 to prevent investor reluctance to take risks from undermining the nation's economic growth.

By contrast, Mr. Bernanke distinguishes between the central bank's two functions. So, on Aug. 17, the Fed cut the interest rate and lengthened the term on loans to banks from its little-used discount window in hopes banks would use the window -- or at least the knowledge it was available -- to lend to solid borrowers having trouble getting credit amidst the market turmoil. The action was aimed at restoring the normal functioning of disrupted credit markets, not primarily at boosting growth.

Fascinating stuff here on two competing visions of the central bank's duties and functions. We're temperamentally and intellecutally sympathetic to the Bernanke model, but it's getting a pretty good stress test these days. (One caveat: Though we weren't caught up in the epic short squeeze on August 17th, we still think that timing was too interventionist by half.)

We think market participants are expecting a bit too much out of Bernanke's remarks at the Jackson Hole Symposium tomorrow. Then again, we'll be watching!

Sources

Greg Ip, "Bernanke Breaks Greenspan Mold," Wall Street Journal, August 30, 2007 (subscription required)

Scott Lanman and John Fraher, "Bernanke May Hear Call for Fed Activism on Regulation," Bloomberg, August 30, 2007