The Struggle for Objectives of Federal Reserve Policy

The September 195S issue of this review carried an interesting article on the Goals of Federal Reserve Credit Policyin which the author chronicled the evolution of Federal Reserve policy objectives. It is significant that, generally speaking, these changing goals of the Board have developed without explicit statutory amendment, largely through an interpretation by the Board itself of the very vague state? ments of policy objectives in the basic legislation.1 The dimensions of the problem come into focus only when one recalls the potential eco? nomic and social impact of Federal Reserve decisions which can cause shifts of wealthy and income between economic groupings or suppress prosperity for particular industries through its general and selective credit controls.2

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