This book explains that politically independent central banks, especially America's Federal Reserve, pursue policies which have different effects on citizens according to their wealth. The Fed and other central bank policies are not neutral but often benefit those with greater capital and income. However, there are competing models of central bank policy with different outcomes for citizens and consumers, as this book explains.
Politically independent central banks such as America's Federal Reserve have enormous sway over the financial lives of citizens globally and often affect citizens differently according to their wealth. In Picking Winners, editors Lawrence R. Jacobs and Desmond King curate a selection of chapters with innovative theoretical frameworks and new research about political institutions and organized interests to demonstrate that central banks and financial regulators are not neutral servants of the "public good."
The research introduced here spans several countries and includes findings from interviews with senior government officials and financiers. In Picking Winners, the contributors reveal how theoretically independent central banks and financial regulators are often swayed instead, by deeply resourced financial interests, the values and perspectives of capital over those of wage earners, and institutional designs that are biased to favor those with greater capital and income.
