The Fourth Branch: The Federal Reserve's Unlikely Rise to Power and Influence
30 July 2005
By Dr. Bernard Shull
Commonly referred to as the fourth branch of the US federal government, the Federal Reserve today exerts a wide-ranging influence over money, interest rates, financial institutions, price levels, employment, economic growth, income, and wealth. In this book from Praeger Publishers, NERA Special Consultant Dr. Bernard Shull analyzes how the Federal Reserve rose to power far beyond the expectations of its founders.
Dr. Shull examines how, despite convincing evidence that misguided Federal Reserve policy exacerbated a number of major economic crises, the institution has consistently emerged from each crisis more powerful and influential than before. By focusing on three critical periods of economic stress (the inflation and deflation following World War I, the stock market crash of 1929 and subsequent Depression, and the volatility of the 1970s and 1980s), Dr. Shull argues that the key to the Federal Reserve's unexpected success has been awareness of its immense value in national emergencies and its capacity to adapt to the changing economic conditions and political realities of the past century.
