Overview
- Contributes to the literature on the behavior of bureaucracies, the effectiveness of financial regulation, and Federal Reserve conduct
- Uses William McChesney Martin, Jr.'s conduct as president of the New York Stock Exchange and Chairman of the Federal Reserve as case studies
- Questions the extent to which legislative acts designed to regulate business achieve their goals
Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in American Economic History (AEH)
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About this book
When we start to perceive that there is a problem in the market (such as monopoly, fraud or speculation), the legislature passes a law to correct it, a bureaucracy is created to interpret and enforce the new law, firms and other market participants comply, and the problem is solved. But is it? Are politicians’ promises and textbooks’ stories to be believed?
This book examines US economic history to demonstrate how the applications of laws are uncertain, affected by changing political and economic conditions as well as by legislators’ perceptions and the ability or willingness of bureaucracies to enforce laws. The two cases developed in this book revolve around William McChesney Martin, Jr., who helped apply (i) the 1930s Securities Acts as president of the New York Stock Exchange and (ii) the Federal Reserve Act in the Keynesian era unforeseen by that Act. As chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, Martin served as private regulator of firms listed on the Exchange—itself a publicly regulated entity. As chairman of the Federal Reserve, he then served as a public regulator. This book thus offers an innovative approach to understanding and examining the various issues and incentives facing each of the three parties: regulated, private regulator, and public regulator.
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Keywords
Table of contents (7 chapters)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
John H. Wood is Reynolds Professor of Economics at Wake Forest University, USA.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Who Governs?
Book Subtitle: Legislatures, Bureaucracies, or Markets?
Authors: John H. Wood
Series Title: Palgrave Studies in American Economic History
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33083-5
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Economics and Finance, Economics and Finance (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-33082-8Published: 29 January 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-33085-9Published: 29 January 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-33083-5Published: 28 January 2020
Series ISSN: 2662-3900
Series E-ISSN: 2662-3919
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: IX, 274
Number of Illustrations: 8 b/w illustrations
Topics: Economic History, Economic Policy, Financial History, North American Economics