Reshaping Monetary Policy after the Great Crash: John H. Williams at the NY FED

2020

John H. Williams was an influential economist and central banker in the interwar years. A Harvard University professor since 1929 specialized in international trade and monetary economics, he joined the NY Fed in 1933 and became its vice-President in 1936. This paper aims to provide a general assessment of Williams’ contributions to monetary and fiscal policy during his tenure at the NY FED. We shall try to do so by following a twofold perspective: i. establish connections between Williams’ more theoretical works, his interpretations of the great depression and some policy decisions enacted by the FED in the 1930s; ii. provide new archival evidence on what was the part Williams played in th…