The Federal Reserve and the Financial Crisis: College Lectures by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke - Roaring 20s, Great Depression, 1929 Stock Market Crash, 2008 Panic

In March 2012, Chairman Ben S. Bernanke delivered a four-part lecture series about the Federal Reserve and the financial crisis that emerged in 2007. The series began with a lecture on the origins and missions of central banks, followed by a lecture that discussed the role and actions of the Federal Reserve in the period after World War II. In the final two lectures, the Chairman reviewed some of the causes of, and policy responses to, the recent financial crisis, focusing specifically on the actions of the Federal Reserve.

Lecture 1: Origins and Mission of the Federal Reserve * Lecture 2: The Federal Reserve after World War II * Lecture 3: The Federal Reserve's Response to the Financial Crisis * Lecture 4: The Aftermath of the Crisis

Overview of the Lectures:

These lectures review some of the causes of and policy responses to the recent financial crisis, focusing on the role of the Federal Reserve.

Understanding the role of the Federal Reserve in the recent financial crisis requires an understanding of
- the origins and mission of central banks
- the lessons of previous financial crises and how they informed the Fed's decisions in the recent one

Roadmap of the Lectures

• Lecture 1 explains what central banks do, the origin of central banking in the United States, and the experience of the Fed during the Great Depression.

• Lecture 2 reviews developments in central banking after World War II, focusing on the recent financial crisis.

• Lecture 3 describes the financial crisis, its implications, and the policy responses by the Federal Reserve and others.

• Lecture 4 discusses monetary policy responses to the recession, the sluggish recovery, post-crisis changes in financial regulation, and implications of the crisis for central bank practice.