Is Chairman Bernanke likely to change Federal Reserve policy?
I would expect Bernanke to follow a very similar path to what Chairman Greenspan would have done. He was a strong supporter of Greenspan when he was on the Fed board (2002-05) and was in sympathy with the chairman’s views on most monetary policy issues (see Greenspan’s Signature Achievement”). What are Bernanke’s qualifications for the job? Bernanke has probably the best academic qualifications for chairman in Fed history. He has been chairman of Princeton’s economics department and is one of the leading experts in monetary theory. His experience on the Fed board has given him inside knowledge of the Fed and financial markets (see Bernanke Gets His Chance”). As chairman of President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers [the White House advisory group of which he’s now the chairman] since June, 2005, he has gotten to know the major figures in Washington, although he hasn’t had as much Washington experience as chairmen Greenspan and [Paul] Volcker when they were appointed. If Bernanke has
