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Economic Response Comparison
Comparison of monetary and fiscal responses between major crises.
Primary Sources
Looking back at Jerome Powell's 8-year term as Federal Reserve Chair - WLRN
AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's eight-year term comes to an end this week, a term that saw a global pandemic that spiked unemployment, the highest inflation rate in 40 years and President Trump's attempts to undermine the Fed's independence.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)JEROME POWELL: After my term as chair ends on May 15, I will continue to serve as a governor for a period of time to be determined.RASCOE: That was Powell late last month, and that announcement that he'll remain on the Fed is also out of the ordinary. Patrick Harker was president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia from 2015 to 2025. He's currently a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, and he joins us now. Welcome to the program.PATRICK HARKER: Thanks for having me.RASCOE: You served alongside Jerome Powell as a member of the Open Market Committee. That's the group in charge of setting interest rates, among other things. How would you describe Powell's leadership style?HARKER: Steady, and when need be, forceful. Jay is a consensus builder. The committee is a consensus. You can't - no one person can get their way on the committee. It really is 19 people in a room with strong opinions. He would let us know where he stood, but he would listen to us, and I really respect that. That's how things get done in the Fed. And I would argue that's how things get done in life, that we have to listen to each other. And at the end of the day, though, why I said forceful, when the pandemic hit, for example, he did not hesitate to take action to help keep the economy going for the American people.RASCOE: Talk to me about that. Do you feel like there were missteps, even allowing that the decisions were only his to make?HARKER: I think we have to go back very quickly in history. If you look at the great financial crisis in 2008, '09, '10, I think the consensus is that we underresponded there. This time around, it wasn't just the Fed responded forcefully by taking rates to zero, but the fiscal side of the house put in a lot of money, let's call it $6 trillion into the hands of Americans to stimulate the economy. Yes, the labor market bounced back quickly, but so did inflation, and that was the real issue that we had to deal with once we got out of the deep throes of the pandemic.RASCOE: Trump has explicitly demanded lower interest rates, called Powell a moron, started a criminal investigation into the Fed's building renovations, attempt...
Big Take: Taking Stock of Jerome Powell as Fed Chair
Big TakeTaking Stock of Jerome Powell as Fed Chair20:55After eight years as chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell’s term concludes this week. On today’s Big Take podcast, host David Gura sits down with Bloomberg Fed correspondents Catarina Saraiva and Amara Omeokwe to look back at Powell’s successes, missteps and legacy — and what shape the central bank could take in the future.May 10, 2026
Looking back at Jerome Powell's 8-year term as Federal Reserve ...
8 hours ago ... NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks to Patrick Harker, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, about Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's ...
Assessing the Powell years: An ordinary presidency in extraordinary times
Kevin Warsh is expected to take over as Fed Chair in the coming days, marking the end of Jerome Powell's eight-year tenure on May 15. This is an opportune moment to step back and review Powell's presidency.
