Event details
Central Banks — Governors of or Governed by Finance?
Commenting on crisis management during the long Great Financial Crisis, Perry Mehrling quipped, “Forget the G7, watch the C5.” Picking up on this theme, this seminar explores the role of central banks in governing finance not only in the midst of financial crises, but also continuously as guardians of financial stability.
Remarkably, the shadow banking system, which had largely been viewed as causal for the 2008 crisis, expanded rather than contracting under the watch of central banks. When faced with new episodes of financial instability, central banks have responded with more large-scale asset purchases and similar measures to support the financial system.
This raises the question whether central banks are governing finance, or whether, instead, finance is forcing central banks to dance to their tune. This is not a new question, and neither is it limited to the U.S., or even the circle of the C5 (Fed, Bank of England, ECB, Swiss CB, Bank of Japan). By putting the recent episodes of the entanglement of central banks with finance into historical perspective, we are hoping to shed new light on the forces that shape money, banking, and finance more broadly.
Speakers
Lev Menand
Columbia Law School
Columbia University
Stefano Ugolini
University of Toulouse
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Contact Information
Kathryn Burke
[email protected]