The U.S. Federal Reserve’s role has evolved over the past several decades — and not in a good way, says author Lev Menand. A law professor and former economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Menand argues here — and in his new book, The Fed unbound: Central banking in a time of crisis — that the Fed’s expanded responsibility of backstopping shadow banks and other speculative players during economic downturns serves mainly to enable more (and more severe) financial crises.

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