Keeping at it paul volcker pdf free download

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Learn more and compare subscriptions content expands above. Seen as an independent figure with integrity: Holocaust restitution from Swiss banks, UN oil for food, World Bank corruption, accounting standards, Obama crisis advisory board.

Financial reform and Volcker Rule - institutions can't gamble with money that has taxpayer backing. Inflation targeting is a made up approach! Paul Volcker knocks the ball out of the park through his autobiography, published at the advanced age of Fiscal standards became unbridled proceeding August when the last vestige of the US Dollar Gold Convertibility Standard was dismantled by fiat.

The money supply grew like never before and it eventually set off a wave of price inflation in major markets incl Paul Volcker knocks the ball out of the park through his autobiography, published at the advanced age of The money supply grew like never before and it eventually set off a wave of price inflation in major markets including the price of gasoline and cost of borrowing.

As the newly appointed Chairman of the Fed in with the inflation rate over 13 percent, Volcker wasted no time, immediately raising interest rates. Those rates had never been seen before in our financial history. Stagflation is the economic phenomenon where price inflation and economic recession intersect. As a central banker, it is the most difficult balancing act, a central banking conundrum: do you raise the interest rate to combat inflation, or do you lower it to combat the recession?

If you raise it to calm prices, you also cause the cost of borrowing to go up. If you lower it to stimulate financial facilities, money supply growth continues and the price level never ceases to increase. History proved Volcker right. Leading the Fed, his aggressive approach against inflation got prices under control, despite the severe market disruptions it caused. This then set the stage to combat the recession, and by the end of his term in both inflation and unemployment were normalized.

The generation with direct experience of stagflation is passing on. Nov 14, David Hill rated it liked it Shelves: biography. I expected more from this book.

Volcker has a long record of public service, most notably, perhaps, as Chairman of the Federal Reserve appointed by Carter, where he solved the problem of "stagflation" and ended America's period of highest inflation. He served the public for the better part of six or seven decades with occasional stints in private business. I was hoping to learn more about the crises he worked on. I can list many of them, but can't tell you exactly what he did to fix them. After I expected more from this book.

After reading this, I still can't. He covers the stagflation issue in a short handful of pages, telling us who he met with and what the problems were, but not going into any detail about the solutions. If you didn't know who he was or were unaware of the highlights of his career, this book does a good job of listing them and telling who were his allies and foes.

As such, it's not a bad place to make a list of events that are worthy of further study. And the final chapter gives a nice, concise look at his overarching philosophy. He talks very little about his personal history and his family. That's fine, I guess, but I think a little more about his family life can help us better understand him as a person.

Most of us are not entirely professional creatures: our non-professional activities can often inform our philosophies. The book includes an index and end notes, but no bibliography. Jan 28, Gordon rated it really liked it. An interesting read for people well-grounded in economic history. Volcker assumes a baseline knowledge about the economic developments in the last years in the US.

That said, he dismisses much of what underpins the modern economy - like computerised trading at the FOMC - as harmful. I fear this is representative of a certain discomfort with that which he was unaccustomed to.

Moreover, his glowing review of Alan Greenspan who contributed to the dismantling of regulation that contributed to t An interesting read for people well-grounded in economic history.

Moreover, his glowing review of Alan Greenspan who contributed to the dismantling of regulation that contributed to the global financial crisis and somewhat unkind remarks on Janet Yellen who implemented the lion's share of Volcker's proposed reforms and oversaw an impressive and stable recovery has hints of internalised bias. Though he served in a different era, he hardly mentions any female colleagues in a positive light, even when discussing the resounding success of the CFPB spearheaded by Elizabeth Warren, who goes unmentioned.

His plea for a spirit of public management will likely fall on deaf ears. The institutions he talks about have evolved, and his career could not be replicated in this day. What he calls "econometrics" is considered mainstream economics now, and without his pedigree it's hard to make a difference in the economic institutions of the country anymore. That said, few public sector officials have enacted institutional reform as effectively as Volcker, so perhaps his plea will inspire others - I know it certainly gave me some determination.

It is apparently possible to live 91 years, write a memoir looking back at those 91 years, and then fail to engage in any real critical reflection about the major choices in your life.

Just as a book, it's not particularly well structured. If you are reading a memoir of Paul Volcker, you are almost certainly interested in his eight years running the free world's economy as Fed chair.

Chapters cover that period. There are sixteen chapters, an intro and an epilogue. Even his time as undersecretary of the Treasury negotiating America's exit from the gold standard only gets one chapter though one that's more introspective and useful than the sections on his more-consequential period at the Fed.

Somehow Volcker managed six chapters about his post-Fed life, only one of which covers his work on financial regulation under Obama. The whole section feels like a narrative CV: "I investigated Swiss banks' stocks of gold stolen from Holocaust victims! I was on some corporate boards! I would like to thank the following people for their help during this period. But it seems like a minimum requirement that he reckon with those choices somehow. Volcker consciously engineered two recessions, sending unemployment into the double digits for the first time since the Great Depression.

He, like most economists, believes he did the right thing and broke the back of inflation. But he refuses to treat his then-critics as anything but corrupt special interests unions being the worst of all who he definitively proved wrong. Then it's on to talking about how Jim Wolfensohn was a fun boss to work for in the 90s. I'm sure he was but truly, who cares? Obviously you have to read this if you're studying Volcker or the Volcker shock or the rightward turn in world politics since the s — and there are some interesting tidbits in here, from Volcker's enthusiastic support for Ronald Reagan's crushing of the air traffic controllers' union, to his frankly meanspirited mockery of people like Lawrence Ball who want to raise average inflation to 4 from 2 percent.

Volcker was temperamentally conservative in a "inflation is per se immoral and a vice to be expunged" kind of way, and the book is useful in illustrating that. But otherwise, this is a book with multiple chapters of ruminations about how the tradition of public service and government work is being lost by a new generation of young people especially at Volcker's alma mater Princeton who go into finance and consulting instead — written by someone who hopped between Wall Street and government his entire career.

It's a book by someone who until his death was unwilling to examine the contradictions in his life. Jan 25, Galbadrakh Purevdorj rated it really liked it. What the hierarchy is and how one can defy certain odds to make a dent in history. It is amazing how one person can be quite so opportune as Paul Volcker, though he grasped at every little opportunity that presented itself.

The lesson from this book is not only the ins and outs of the global financial systems and the Federal reserve. But to me it was how when problems are considered globally especially within the financial sector, the mighty United States can do only so much and would require support from other players within the global financial hierarchy.

It was especially evident when the book turns to talk about the Breton woods conference. Furthermore, it was truly insightful that how smaller countries who command less respect can turn the tides of certain decisions in their favor by carefully maneuvering the international landscape.

Overall, it was an amazing book that got me more and more interested in the financial system and global economy. But I feel obliged to point out that you require a certain amount of knowledge about economy and finance in order to fully comprehend what the book has to offer. Jan 02, Larry rated it liked it. Was ok I read more in the economics space than monetary theory, so I didn't always feel like I had a great grasp on the impact of raising or not interest rates and thought this would help, but it was not at that level.

It was mostly interesting, but terribly short on details about anything. Maybe he has other books that go more into detail about the theory. I appreciated the concern about people in public policy being looked on as untrustworthy and the need for better schools to develop new leaders. I appreciated his comment about attempting to be non-partisan, but I don't believe that's possible at that level. You have to have a theory of how government should operate to be able to attempt to manage an economy.

Jun 18, Matt rated it liked it. A nice memoir from the man who tried to rein in the excesses of Wall Street following the financial crisis. His mantra of "Thou shalt not gamble with the public's money" should resonate with those in the workforce in and today with the bailout bills that eclipse TARP by many multiples.

While his behind-the-scenes portrayal of those times is interesting, it would have helped a relative novice in monetary policy like myself if there were more technical details.

All in all a good book and it was refreshing to see a powerful person who spend so much time in Washington give an honest view of the swamp it's become. Nov 22, Sverrir Sverrisson rated it liked it. To me this book confirmed how Paul was a man of principle and had strong ideas on how people working for the government should go about their work. Obviously a highly intelligent man he has a record to show it.

However, it also seems he was the last of the breed. His successors all opted to turn a blind eye to the overseas dollar market which has since become the monster that can no longer be prevented from taking down the worldwide economy.

Central banking shouldn't have evolved into 'psychology To me this book confirmed how Paul was a man of principle and had strong ideas on how people working for the government should go about their work. Central banking shouldn't have evolved into 'psychology only' practice. Honored to be Paul's personal salmon fishing guide up in the icelandic north east, i had him hanging on ropes from cliff tops, acting as his 'personal wading stick' and being the 'worst guide possible' as he himself put it.

Happy to be part of his adventures and i know he was too. May 09, Ding Wei Yung rated it liked it. A memoir by a career civil servant who helped in closing the gold window during the Bretton Woods era, charted a strong reputation with his hawkish stance in fighting inflation in the early 80s, as well as subsequent involvement in various committees that investigated malfeasance in the UN oil for food program and the return of money in Swiss banking accounts to heirs of Holocaust victims.

Towards the end of the memoir, he laments the lack of good administration in the government, overstretched g A memoir by a career civil servant who helped in closing the gold window during the Bretton Woods era, charted a strong reputation with his hawkish stance in fighting inflation in the early 80s, as well as subsequent involvement in various committees that investigated malfeasance in the UN oil for food program and the return of money in Swiss banking accounts to heirs of Holocaust victims.

Towards the end of the memoir, he laments the lack of good administration in the government, overstretched government responsibilities with limited budget, and scathing attack on the lobbying in Washington. May 16, Luc rated it really liked it Shelves: financial-and-economics-issues.

In his final remarks, Volcker questioned the evolution of "open democratic societies" in a world that is experiencing profound transformations p. In a sense, we live in a world where everything must be built anew and where the future brings its load of uncertainty. In the end, Volcker mentions his late mother answer to those questions. In two hundred years it has survived a lot. Ge In his final remarks, Volcker questioned the evolution of "open democratic societies" in a world that is experiencing profound transformations p.

Get back to work" p. Up to a point, the future of our societies is the product of our collective choices and hard work. Oct 15, Rahul Deodhar rated it really liked it. What the hierarchy is and how one can defy certain odds to make a dent in history. The lesson from this book is not only the ins and outs of the global financial systems and the Federal reserve.

But to me it was how when problems are considered globally especially within the financial sector, the mighty US can do only so much. It was truly insightful that how smaller countries who command less respect can turn the tides of certain decisions in their favour by carefully manoeuvring the international landscape. Overall it was an amazing book that got me hooked up on books again. Also the narrator was really good. The first part of book, sounds a bit entitled to hear about his very privileged life.

Second half has lots of economic detail that gives some insight into the workings of monetary policy. Overall, a little difficult to understand for someone without an economics background, but still interesting.

I was somewhat underwhelmed by this autobiography. Having read excellent biographies on Greenspan and Bernanke, and been fascinated by the world they inhabit, I was expecting a really dramatic insight into the drama and intrigue of the Fed chairman who famously defeated the inflation doves.

I don't know whether it was Volcker's humility, or his inability for storytelling probably both but his whole career seemed to pass very uneventfully within the covers of this book. So by the time I got to the end I was left thinking, "Is that it? Add to Cart failed. Please try again later. Add to Wish List failed. Remove from wishlist failed. Adding to library failed. Please try again. Follow podcast failed.

Unfollow podcast failed. Stream or download thousands of included titles. Keeping at It By: Paul A. Volcker,Christine Harper. Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd. No default payment method selected. Add payment method. Switch payment method.

We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method. Pay using card ending in. Taxes where applicable. Listeners also enjoyed Pollak Length: 32 hrs and 23 mins Unabridged Overall. Publisher's Summary The extraordinary life story of the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, whose absolute integrity provides the inspiration we need as our constitutional system and political tradition are being tested to the breaking point.

Critic Reviews "Never has a message like Paul Volcker's been more important. Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews. Amazon Reviews. Sort by:. Most Helpful Most Recent. Filter by:. All stars 5 star only 4 star only 3 star only 2 star only 1 star only.

Jean Engaging I remember watching Paul Volcker on T.