Economy of Words
Communicative Imperatives in Central Banks
Douglas R. Holmes
- Markets
- are
- artifacts
- of
- language—so
- Douglas
- R.
- Holmes
- argues
- in
- this
- deeply
- researched
- look
- at
- central
- banks
- and
- the
- people
- who
- run
- them.
- Working
- at
- the
- intersection
- of
- anthropology,
- linguistics,
- and
- economics,
- he
- shows
- how
- central
- bankers
- have
- been
- engaging
- in
- communicative
- experiments
- that
- predate
- the
- financial
- crisis
- and
- continue
- to
- be
- refined
- amid
- its
- unfolding
- turmoil—experiments
- that
- do
- not
- merely
- describe
- the
- economy,
- but
- actually
- create
- its
- distinctive
- features.Holmes
- examines
- the
- New
- York
- District
- Branch
- of
- the
- Federal
- Reserve,
- the
- European
- Central
- Bank,
- Deutsche
- Bundesbank,
- and
- the
- Bank
- of
- England,
- among
- others,
- and
- shows
- how
- officials
- there
- have
- created
- a
- new
- monetary
- regime
- that
- relies
- on
- collaboration
- with
- the
- public
- to
- achieve
- the
- ends
- of
- monetary
- policy.
- Central
- bankers,
- Holmes
- argues,
- have
- shifted
- the
- conceptual
- anchor
- of
- monetary
- affairs
- away
- from
- standards
- such
- as
- gold
- or
- fixed
- exchange
- rates
- and
- toward
- an
- evolving
- relationship
- with
- the
- public,
- one
- rooted
- in
- sentiments
- and
- expectations.
- Going
- behind
- closed
- doors
- to
- reveal
- the
- intellectual
- world
- of
- central
- banks,Economy
- of
- Words
- offers
- provocative
- new
- insights
- into
- the
- way
- our
- economic
- circumstances
- are
- conceptualized
- and
- ultimately managed.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
