Aiming to "to put the Federal Reserve and monetary policy in a historical perspective," this encyclopedia covers economic concepts (
Excess demand), organizational structures (
Federal Advisory Council), events (
Great Depression), legislation and regulation (
Community Reinvestment Act), and other topics related to the Federal Reserve. Of the 280 entries, 35 also cover people, including Board of Governors chairs, key U.S. presidents, economists, and members of Congress.
Articles follow an alphabetical arrangement. Searchers can browse a list of entries or a topical list of entries at the front of the volume or use the index at the back. Three appendixes precede the index--the text of the Federal Reserve Act, a list of Board of Governors members from 1913 to 2004, and a descriptive list of Federal Reserve regulations. Article length varies from a single paragraph (Credit crunch) to several pages (for example, Inflation, which is four pages).
Author Hafer worked for the Federal Reserve and now teaches as professor and chairman of the Department of Economics and Finance at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. With this experience, he provides both a theoretical as well as an operational view of the Federal Reserve. For example, the article Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) not only describes the history and purpose of the FOMC but also outlines a typical FOMC meeting.
Numerous equations, graphs, and charts are included. Most articles list further readings composed of books, articles, Web sites, and other materials. Some further reading lists are overly short; the entry Excess supply includes one further reading--the textbook Economics (Houghton Mifflin, 2004).
Some of the same topics (e.g., Barter, Banking Act of 1933) are found in broader albeit older banking and economic resources such as The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics (Macmillan, 1987). Providing introductory material suitable for the college and adult user, The Federal Reserve System is recommended for comprehensive collections. Stephen Fadel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"Hafers guide will serve students and lay readers as a handy, first-stop source."
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Lawrence Looks at Books
"Providing introductory material suitable for the college and adult user, The Federal Reserve System is recommended for comprehensive collections."
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Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
"This encyclopedia's contents range across Federal Reserve operations and how monetary policy functions in the United States. Hafer includes entries on topics that affect how monetary policy is conducted, such as real business cycle theory. Similar entries are tied to monetary policy, regulatory oversight duties, or how the Federal Reserve System operates. The author presents complex economic and monetary issues or concepts in terms understandable to the general reader, and the introduction provides an historical overview of the system's development….[c]ould easily serve as the sole resource for school libraries (particularly elementary and intermediate schools) and small public libraries. Highly recommended. Academic libraries serving first- and second-year students, and general readers; public and school libraries."
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Choice
"Whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates to control inflation has recently been of concern to consumers and professionals. This encyclopedia puts the issue into perspective as it explains how the Federal Reserve operates and how its monetary policy functions….Reference librarians will find the topical list of entries useful, as well as the extensive index. College students and the general reader will find this a valuable source to explain topics that will continue to be headline news."
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Reference & User Services Quarterly
"[A] solid accomplishment as it provides clear and accessible expositions on a wide variety of topics related to the Federal Reserve System….[H]afer has succeeded in creating a concise, coherent, eminently readable introduction to the Federal Reserve System….[i]t will undoubtedly prove helpful to students and interested laypersons. Instructors, particularly those teaching Money and Banking or Macroeconomics, will likely find the volume useful in their courses and I also expect that instructors teaching economic or financial history will find ways to utilize the book in their classes. College libraries should add the Encyclopedia to their collections. High-school and public libraries would also benefit their readers by putting a copy the book on their shelves."
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EH.NET
"Hafer's enthusiastic interest in the Federal Reserve and central banking in general is the key ingredient in making this volume successful. He has also done an admirable job of making the information accessible to non-specialists without sacrificing detail that will appeal to specialists. The Federal Reserve System: An Encyclopedia is a very useful reference volume and is recommended for academic and public research libraries, particularly those with concentrations in economics, business, and political science."
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Journal of Business & Finance Librarianship
