We conduct a systematic analysis of the costs and benefits of large-scale securities purchases, using the Federal Reserve's QE4 program as a concrete example. This program was initiated at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 and continued for two years, leading to a doubling of the Fed's...

"The making of a central bank-and of America's financial contingency plans. The long-standing description of the Federal Reserve as a "lender of last resort" refers to the central bank's provision of emergency liquidity for banks and financial entities in periods of crisis. As economist Mark...