伯南克的靦腆拖累了美國經濟復蘇嗎?
????假如美聯(lián)儲主席本?伯南克能有幾分“毒舌”評委西蒙?考威爾的張揚,美國經濟的狀況會不會比現(xiàn)在好一些?美國國家經濟研究局(National Bureau of Economic Research)本周發(fā)布的一份新報告似乎就是這種觀點。 ????這份報告名為《伯南克和零利率》(Bernanke and the Zero Bound),由約翰霍普金斯大學(Johns Hopkins University)經濟學教授勞倫斯?巴爾撰寫。報告質問美聯(lián)儲(Federal Reserve)為什么沒有采取更激進的政策措施來提振美國經濟。巴爾分析了很多可能性,包括政治壓力以及我們尚未真正陷入通縮的事實。最后,巴爾得出了自己的結論:原因在于伯南克個性靦腆。 ????美聯(lián)儲未出臺第三輪量化寬松政策(QE3),難道真的是因為伯南克的個性?伯南克在加盟美聯(lián)儲之前曾寫了大量文章,建議美聯(lián)儲在短期利率(就像現(xiàn)在這樣)接近于零的時候應當如何復蘇經濟。實際上,他曾被認為是這方面的專家。巴爾說,伯南克一貫主張采取一些激進措施,如將美元大幅貶值、調高通貨膨脹率目標和所謂的“貨幣融資”(money-financed)減稅,即美聯(lián)儲“印刷”更多的紙幣,以便民眾可少交點稅,這往往被認為不會增加通脹。巴爾提到了伯南克2000年的一場演講,當時他曾責怪日本央行未做更多努力來提振日本經濟。 ????但是,伯南克作為現(xiàn)任美聯(lián)儲主席同樣沒有嘗試過這類舉措。比如,美聯(lián)儲在最近一次會議上采納了2%的溫和通脹目標,而非哈佛大學(Harvard)的肯?羅格夫等經濟學家建議的4%或更高水平。這是怎么回事?巴爾說他也不知道,但他認為這可能和伯南克的靦腆有關。2003年年中,短期利率降至1%,美聯(lián)儲委員們也在討論,他們還能采取什么行動來刺激經濟增長。大部分人反對采用很多伯南克過去的政策措施??磥聿峡说挠^念已迅速同其他委員形成了一致。 ????摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)首席美國經濟學家文森?賴因哈特不同意巴爾的觀點。賴因哈特在00年代中期曾擔任美聯(lián)儲首席經濟學家,巴爾認為,伯南克觀念的轉變一部分原因就在于賴因哈特。但賴因哈特稱,伯南克的改變更大程度上是因為他認識到了經濟學家的頭腦風暴和真正擔任央行行長后的現(xiàn)實可能性之間的差異,這些遠遠超過了他對伯南克的任何影響?!耙粋€靦腆的人會在金融危機期間推行所有這些特殊舉措嗎?”賴因哈反問?!艾F(xiàn)在,美國聯(lián)邦公開市場委員會(FOMC)很多委員甚至都在質疑伯南克是不是過于激進了?!?/p> ????確實,我們聽到的對伯南克最多的指責就是他刺激通脹可能過了頭,而不是做的太少了。伯南克和美聯(lián)儲最近的態(tài)度認為,美國經濟仍然比表面看上去更疲弱。這種觀點進一步激起一些經濟學家和共和黨人的憤怒。另外,伯南克是第一位定期召開新聞發(fā)布會的美聯(lián)儲主席,一個靦腆的人絕對不會這么干。但巴爾仍認為,伯南克在擔任美聯(lián)儲主席前后,對經濟刺激政策的態(tài)度判若兩人,實屬不該。 ????“我覺得愛因斯坦如果去參加一個物理學講座,不會一面說它不知所云,一面又表示認同,”巴爾說?!暗峡说那闆r基本上就是這樣?!?/p> |
????Would we all be better off if Ben Bernanke were more like Simon Cowell? A new paper published this week by the National Bureau of Economic Research seems to suggest so. ????The paper by economics professor Laurence Ball of Johns Hopkins University, which is titled Bernanke and the Zero Bound, asks why the Federal Reserve hasn't been more aggressive in trying to revive the economy. Ball goes through a number of possibilities, including political pressure and the fact we haven't actually had deflation. In the end Ball lands on this one: Bernanke's a shy guy. ????Can you really blame a lack of QE3 on personality? Before Bernanke joined the Fed he wrote extensively on what the Fed should do to revive the economy when, as is the case now, short-term interest rates are at near zero. In fact, he was considered an expert on the subject. Ball says Bernanke consistently advocated such drastic measures as an aggressive depreciation of the dollar, raising inflation targets and so-called money-financed tax cuts, where the Fed "prints" money so that the rest of us can pay less to the government, which is generally considered an inflation no-no. Ball cites one speech in 2000 in particular where Bernanke takes Japan's central bankers to task for not doing more to revive their nation's economy. ????Yet, Bernanke as actual chairman hasn't tried any of these. The Fed, for instance, at its most recent meeting adopted a mild 2% inflation target, instead of the 4% or more that some economists like Harvard's Ken Rogoff have suggested. So what happened? Ball says he doesn't know, but he thinks Bernanke's shyness may have played a role. In mid-2003, when short-term interest rates were cut to 1%, members of the Federal Reserve debated what else they could do to stimulate the economy. The majority argued against using many of the policy measures that Bernanke had earlier backed. Bernanke's views appear to have quickly conformed to the rest of the group. ????Vincent Reinhart, Morgan Stanley's chief U.S. economist, disagrees. He was a top economist at the Fed in the mid-2000s, and Ball, in part, credits Reinhart with changing Bernanke's views. But Reinhart says the change in Bernanke is more a factor of what you brainstorm about as an economist and what you realize is really possible as a true central banker, than any influence he had on Bernanke. "Would a shy person put in place all the collection of special facilities during the financial crisis," says Reinhart. "There are a number of members of the FOMC who would question right now whether Bernanke has been too aggressive." ????Indeed, Bernanke's most vocal critics have often wondered whether he has done too much to stoke inflation, not too little. And Bernanke and the Fed's recent stance that the economy remains weaker than it appears has only invited more ire from some economists and Republicans. What's more, Bernanke is the first Fed chairman to hold regular press conferences, not something you would expect a shy person to do. Still, Ball thinks Bernanke about-face on policy measures to revive the economy is significant, and in Ball's view unfortunate. ????"I don't think Albert Einstein would have gone to a lecture on physics that said he didn't know what he was talking about and then agree with it," says Ball. "But in Bernanke's case that's essentially what happened." |