Bernanke Ben

The Courage to Act: A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath

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A New York Times Bestseller
“A fascinating account of the effort to save the world from another [Great Depression]. … Humanity should be grateful.”—Financial Times

In 2006, Ben S. Bernanke was appointed chair of the Federal Reserve, the unexpected apex of a personal journey from small-town South Carolina to prestigious academic appointments and finally public service in Washington’s halls of power.

There would be no time to celebrate.

The bursting of a housing bubble in 2007 exposed the hidden vulnerabilities of the global financial system, bringing it to the brink of meltdown. From the implosion of the investment bank Bear Stearns to the unprecedented bailout of insurance giant AIG, efforts to arrest the financial contagion consumed Bernanke and his team at the Fed. Around the clock, they fought the crisis with every tool at their disposal to keep the United States and world economies afloat.

Working with two U.S. presidents, and under fire from a fractious Congress and a public incensed by behavior on Wall Street, the Fed—alongside colleagues in the Treasury Department—successfully stabilized a teetering financial system. With creativity and decisiveness, they prevented an economic collapse of unimaginable scale and went on to craft the unorthodox programs that would help revive the U.S. economy and become the model for other countries.

Rich with detail of the decision-making process in Washington and indelible portraits of the major players, The Courage to Act recounts and explains the worst financial crisis and economic slump in America since the Great Depression, providing an insider’s account of the policy response.
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868 printed pages
Original publication
2015
Publication year
2015
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Quotes

  • b3752042129has quoted6 years ago
    First, in periods of recession, deflation, or both, monetary policy should be forcefully deployed to restore full employment and normal levels of inflation. Second, policymakers must act decisively to preserve financial stability and normal flows of credit.
  • b3752042129has quoted6 years ago
    During a recession, banks lend more cautiously as their losses mount, while borrowers become less creditworthy as their finances deteriorate. More cautious banks and less creditworthy borrowers mean that credit flows less freely, impeding household purchases and business investments. These declines in spending exacerbate the recession.
    More generally, our work underscored the importance of a healthy financial system for the economy. For example, it implied that recessions are worse when households and businesses start with high debt levels, as falling income and profits make it more difficult for borrowers to pay their existing debts or to borrow more.
  • b3752042129has quoted6 years ago
    Likewise, if a country’s banking system is in bad shape at the outset of a recession, the downturn will likely be worse. In extreme cases like the Depression, a banking collapse can help create a prolonged economic slump.

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