Committee Decisions on Monetary Policy: Evidence from Historical Records of the Federal Open Market Committee

Henry W. Chappell, Jr., is Professor of Economics at the University of South Carolina. Rob Roy McGregor is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

An examination of how the policy preferences of individual members of the Federal Open Market Committee are translated into monetary policy decisions.

"Replacing speculation and opinion with powerful empirical results, this book cuts to the heart of the policy making process. It should be required reading for anyone wishing to understand the Federal Open Market Committee and the way in which monetary policy is made."--W. Lee Hoskins, former president, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland "This book does a great job of combining monetary and high-level econometrics, political science, and archival research to produce a compelling account of the political economy of Federal Reserve decision making." Nathaniel Beck, Department of Politics, New York University "In this pioneering work, Grossman and Helpman use tools of economic theory to provide new insights into lobbying and special-interest-group-politics. The work is innovative and comprehensive, shedding light on a wide range of questions in a unified treatment. It is a must for anyone interested in special interest groups."--Allan Drazen, Jack and Lisa Yael Professor of Comparative Economics, Tel Aviv University, and Professor of Economics, University of Maryland "This book does a great job of combining monetary economics and high-level econometrics, political science, and archival research to produce a compelling account of the political economy of Federal Reserve decision making."--Nathaniel Beck, Department of Politics, New York University "This highly original and intriguing study of Federal Open Market Committee decision making combines analytical insights and anecdotal evidence with extensive use of actual Committee transcripts, a true innovation in studying how policy is actually made. It will no doubt become a standard reference for understanding monetary policy in the United States."--Allan Drazen, Jack and Lisa Yael Professor of Comparative Economics, Tel Aviv University, and Professor of Economics, University of Maryland