Central Bank Capitalism - Monetary Policy in Times of Crisis

Today's global financial system bears little resemblance to what it was at the end of the twentieth century. Shadow banking - financial activities that take place outside the existing regulatory framework - has become so important that it now forms the backbone of the entire system. However, the shadow banking system is highly unstable and has been the main reason why the financial system has been in crisis mode since the 2008 financial crisis.

To maintain stability, central banks such as the Fed and the European Central Bank have deployed radical new monetary policy tools that were unthinkable until recently. As Joscha Wullweber shows, the interdependence of state and market has changed radically: Without the intervention of central banks, existing financial systems would collapse completely. As governments have abandoned strong and comprehensive fiscal and financial regulation policies, central banks have become the most important stabilising force and the linchpin of the financial cycle. These overburdened institutions have to intervene almost daily to avert a crisis. Wullweber refers to this historical phase as central bank capitalism. His book offers a clear account of the current permanent crisis with its new dilemmas and paradoxes that pose enormous challenges to financial and economic stability.

Joscha Wullweber is Heisenberg Professor of Politics, Transformation and Sustainability and the Director of [tra:ce]

Further information

• Published by: Stanford University Press
• Series: Currencies: New Thinking for Financial Times
• Hardcover ISBN: 9781503638969
  Paperback ISBN: 9781503639621
  Ebook ISBN: 9781503639638