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The Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System (“the Fed”) is the central bank of the United States.
Central bank functions:– Banks’ bank:
• accepts deposits from banks• makes loans to banks.
– Banker for the government.– It controls the money supply.– Regulates banks– Clears checks
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Structure of the Federal Reserve System
The Board of Governors Alan Greenspan, Chair
6 other governors
12 Regional Federal Reserve District Banks (FRBs)
Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) The Board of Governors (7)
5 of 12 District Presidents (in Rotation)
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The Federal Reserve System
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The Board of Governors
Seven members appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate
14-year termTerms are staggered:– one comes vacant every two years
President appoints Chairman to serve a four-year term
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Functions of the Fed Banking Services and Supervision
– Supplies currency to banks through its 12 district federal reserve banks.
– Holds reserves of banks in the district bank of each bank.• These are commercial bank deposits at the Fed
– Processes and routes checks to banks through its district banks and processing centers.
– Makes loans to banks—it is the “lender of last resort”, the “banker’s bank”.
– It supervises and regulate banks, ensuring that they operate in a sound and prudent manner.
– Banker for the U.S. government. – Manages sales of government securities for the U.S.
Treasury.
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Functions of the Fed
Controlling the Money Supply– Vary money supply to meet seasonal
fluctuations in the demand for money. • Helps keep interest rates steady.• Example: 4th quarter holiday season
creates an increased demand for money to buy gifts.
–Change money supply to meet policy goals of the FOMC.
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Policy Goals of the Fed
Ultimate Goal: Economic growth with stable prices.
Intermediate Targets:– The Fed establishes target growth rate
for the money supply, consistent with its ultimate goals.
– The money supply growth rate is an intermediate target
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Fed Policy Linkages
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Velocity of MoneyVelocity of Money
Velocity of money: the average number of times a dollar is spent on final goods and services in a year.
Velocity = Turns per year
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Velocity of Money = $GDP/M
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Equation of Exchange: relates quantity of money to nominal GDP
– M = money supply (some aggregate)– V = velocity of money (of the
aggregate)– P = price level– Q = real GDP– PQ = nominal GDP
MV = PQ(Note: V = PQ/M)
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Equation of Exchange and Inflation:
MV = PQ
Or in terms of growth rates:
M% + V% = P% + Q%
If velocity is growing at 3% per year, the money supply is growing at 5% per year, and real GDP is growing at 2% per year, what must the inflation rate (P%) be?
5% + 3% = P% + 2%P% = 6%
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Operating ProceduresFOMC Directive: Instructions to the
Federal Reserve Bank of NY
– Buy or sell government bonds to keep the federal funds rate at a specific level.
– The federal funds rate (“fed funds rate”): the interest rate banks charge when they lend excess reserves to each other.
– The buying and selling of government bonds by the fed to achieve policy objectives are open market operations
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The Fed’s Policy Tools
1) Reserve Requirements
2) Discount rate
“primary lending rate”
3) Open market operations
Manage the public’s expectations
Inflation Targeting?
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Reserve RequirementLegal reserves: the cash a bank holds in
its vault plus its deposits at the Fed.When Fed lowers reserve requirements,
banks have excess reserves which they can then lend.
Such lending triggers the deposit expansion multiplier, increasing the money supply.
Similarly, the Fed may decrease the money supply by raising reserve requirements.
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Discount Rate (Primary Credit Rate)The discount rate is the rate of interest a
Fed District Bank charges when a bank borrows from it.
When the Fed raises the discount rate, it raises the cost of borrowing reserves, reducing the amount of reserves borrowed.
Lower levels of reserves result in reduced lending, and reduced money supply.
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Open Market OperationsOpen Market OperationsOpen Market Operations (OMOs):
buying and selling of government bonds by the Fed to control bank reserves, the fed funds rate, and the money supply.
Buy Ease Sell TightenAn increase in reserves results in an
increase in the money supply and a reduction in the fed funds rate.
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Now to combine money supply with money demand:
– Transactions demand: hold money to buy goods and services.
– Precautionary demand: cover unplanned transactions or emergencies.
– Speculative demand: deal with uncertainty about the value of other assets
… fear decline in the value of other assets, so hold money as a safeguard.
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Money DemandInterest rate is opportunity cost of holding money. The higher the interest rate the lower the quantity of money demanded.
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Effect of a change in income on money demand
Transactions demand increases with income. As nominal income increases, the volume of transactions increase, requiring more money.
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Money Supply
Money supply is controlled by the Fed, and therefore is not a function of interest rates. As a result the money supply function is vertical.
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Money Market Equilibrium
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How Money Supply Changes affect GDP
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Money Supply and Interest Rates
Money
InterestRates
Fed Increases Money Supply
M2M1
r2
r1InterestRatesFall
Md
