Committee decisions on monetary policy: evidence from historical records of the Federal Open Market Committee

Introduction

Institutional background

Analytical background

A long history of FOMC voting behavior : individual reaction functions and political influence on the monetary policy decision process

Data from the Memoranda of Discussion and FOMC Transcripts

Estimating reaction functions for individual FOMC members

Majority rule, consensus building, and the power of the chairman : Arthur Burns and the FOMC

FOMC decisions during the Greenspan years

Political influences on monetary policy decision making : evidence from the Memoranda and the Transcripts

Time inconsistency and the great inflation : evidence from the Memoranda and the Transcripts

Conclusions.