The length of the essay should be no more than 500 typed words (i.e. two typed pages in length). Writing the essay requires you to complete the course readings, in particular
1) Bernanke’s book on the Federal Reserve and the Financial Crisis.
2) Great Depression Essay on Federal Reserve History web site. https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/great-depression (Links to an external site.)
It would also be useful to read Bernanke’s speech on the Great Depression. You can find it at. https://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2002/20021108/default.htm (Links to an external site.). The ideas in the speech underlie the course readings. But, they may be able to discern directly in the speech.
The purpose of the essay is to answer the question: Did Ben Bernanke learn anything from the Fed’s experience during the Great Depression that helped him to steer the Federal Reserve through the financial crisis in 2008-9? A good answer to this question would.
Describe the lessons that Ben Bernanke says he (and other economists and leaders of the Fed) learned from the Fed’s depression-era experience.
Indicate which of those lessons the Fed applied in 2008-9.
Explain whether the application of those lessons helped or harmed the economy in 2008-9
