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Research Economists

Robert L. Hetzel

Small photograph of Robert Hetzel.
My research interest is how central banks control inflation. Much of my work documents the historical evolution of central banking.
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Publications

Photo: Book cover

The Monetary Policy of the Federal Reserve: A History

"The Monetary Policy of the Federal Reserve: A History" offers a history of Fed monetary policy from the start of the Fed through the Greenspan tenure as chairman. It was published by Cambridge University Press in 2008

Fed control of inflation

"How Do Central Banks Control Inflation?" Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly 90 (Summer 2004), 47-63.

"What Difference Would an Inflation Target Make?" Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly 91 (Spring 2005), 45-72.

"Making the Systematic Part of Monetary Policy Transparent." Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly 92 (Summer 2006), 255-90.

"What Is the Monetary Standard, Or, How Did the Volcker-Greenspan FOMC's Tame Inflation?" Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly 93 (Spring 2008).

History of central banking

"Henry Thornton: Seminal Monetary Theorist and Father of the Modern Central Bank." Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Review 73 (July/August 1987), 3-16.

"The Rules versus Discretion Debate over Monetary Policy in the 1920s." Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Review 71 (November/December 1985), 3-14.

"Sterilized Foreign Exchange Intervention: The Fed Debate in the 1960s," Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly, (Spring 1996), 21-46.

"Arthur Burns and Inflation." Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly 84 (Winter 1998), 21-44.

Hetzel, Robert L. and Ralph F. Leach. "The Treasury-Fed Accord: A New Narrative Account." Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly 87 (Winter 2001), 33-55.

_____. "After the Accord: Reminiscences on the Birth of the Modern Fed." Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly 87 (Winter 2001), 57-64. "German Monetary History in the First Half of the Twentieth Century." Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly 88 (Winter 2002), 1-35.

"German Monetary History in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century: From the Deutsche Mark to the Euro." Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly 88 (Spring 2002), 29-64.

"Japanese Monetary Policy: A Quantity Theory Perspective." Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly 85 (Winter 1999), 1-25.

"Japanese Monetary Policy and Deflation." Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly 89 (Summer 2003), 21-52.

"Price Stability and Japanese Monetary Policy." Bank of Japan Monetary and Economic Studies 22 (October 2004), 1-23.

Political economy of central banking

"The Political Economy of Monetary Policy." in Thomas Mayer, ed., The Political Economy of American Monetary Policy, Cambridge Press, 1989.

"Too Big to Fail: Origins, Consequences, and Outlook." Economic Review 77 (November/December 1991), 3-15.

"Central Banks' Independence in Historical Perspective: A Review Essay." Journal of Monetary Economics 25 (January 1990): 165-76.

"Currency Boards: Their Past, Present, and Possible Future Role: Comment," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series 39 (December 1993), 189-93.

"The Case for a Monetary Rule in a Constitutional Democracy." Economic Quarterly, 83 (Spring 1997), 45-65.

"The Case for Inflation Targeting." Cato Journal 27 (Spring/Summer 2007), 273-81.

Milton Friedman

"Friedman, Milton." in An Encyclopedia of Keynesian Economics, pp. 191-4. ed. Thomas Cate, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 1997.

"Remembering Milton Friedman: The Power of Markets." Richmond Times Dispatch, 11/29/06, p. A13.

"Milton Friedman and Liberty." Region Focus, Winter 2007, 64.

"The Contributions of Milton Friedman to Economics." Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Review 93 (Winter 2007), 1-30.

Work on indexed bonds as a vehicle for measuring expected inflation

"A Better Way to Fight Inflation." Wall Street Journal, April 25, 1991. "Indexed Bonds as an Aid to Monetary Policy." Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Review, (January/February 1992a), 13-23.

Work Experience

Joined the Richmond Fed Research Department in 1975

Education

B.A., University of Chicago, 1967

Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1975

  • -Dissertation: "Short-Run Reserve Position Adjustment of New York City Banks"
  • -Thesis committee: Milton Friedman, Robert Barro, Lester Telser