Origins and Mission of the Federal Reserve
In the first lecture, the Chairman explains what central banks do, the origin of central banking in the United States, and the early experience of the Federal Reserve in dealing with a serious financial crisis: the Great Depression.
Lecture Materials
Origins and Mission of the Federal Reserve presentation (PDF) | Accessible Version
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March 20, 2012Transcript (PDF)
- Introduction
- Lecture
- Video Clip 1: A central bank and its mission
- Video Clip 2: The policy tools of central banks
- Video Clip 3: Origins of central banking
- Video Clip 4: Financial panics
- Video Clip 5: Lender of last resort
- Video Clip 6: Financial stability prior to the Fed
- Video Clip 7: The gold standard
- Video Clip 8: Establishment of the Federal Reserve
- Video Clip 9: The Great Depression
- Video Clip 10: Policy during the Great Depression
- Video Clip 11: President Roosevelt’s economic policies
- Student Q&A