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Diagnosing and Explaining the Global Financial Crisis: Central Banks, Epistemic Authority, and Sense Making

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Abstract

This article explores a key facet of the ideational dynamic underlying the politics of the global financial crisis, examining the interpretative and communicative practices through which the two most powerful central banks in the world—the Fed and the ECB—made sense of the events. Drawing on a constructivist neoinstitutional perspective, the study traces and analyzes the diagnoses and causal accounts of the global financial crisis formulated and voiced by these two actors, mapping and examining their evolution from the beginning of the events in the American subprime market in mid-2007 through the peak of the crisis in global financial markets in mid-2009. The analysis assesses the extent to which the two central banks diagnosed and explained the crisis in ways that challenged dominant notions and conceptual assumptions regarding the economic field, particularly the financial realm, or rather in ways that served to ratify them. While in the first stages of the crisis the diagnoses and causal accounts tended to ratify dominant notions and understandings of the financial field, they later evolved as involving a partial, but still significant, reassessment of established truths. These coherent and detailed sense-making plots touched upon some of the most basic attributes of global financial capitalism, carrying with them the potential for helping to open up the political space for a reevaluation of some of its ideational underpinnings.

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Notes

  1. The data examined comprise 137 items for the Fed and 195 for the ECB. They were all retrieved from the web site of the Bank for International Settlements (http://www.bis.org/list/cbspeeches/index.htm).

  2. For instance, “Housing, housing finance, and monetary policy,” Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Economic Symposium, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, 31 August 2007; “The financial market turmoil, the European economy, and the role of the European Central Bank,” Lucas Papademos, Vice President of the European Central Bank, at an event organized by The European Institute, New York, 27 September 2007; “Reflections on the global financial system,” Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, at the 2007 IIF Annual Membership Meeting, Washington, DC, 20 October 2007.

  3. For instance, “Financial markets and central banking,” Donald Kohn, Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the Peter McColough Series on International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations, New York, 28 November 2007; Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, at a hearing before the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, Brussels, 9 October 2007.

  4. “Subprime mortgage lending and mitigating foreclosures,” Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, before the Committee on Financial Services, US House of Representatives, Washington, DC, 20 September 2007.

  5. “Reflections on the global financial system,” Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, at the IIF Annual Membership Meeting, Washington, DC, 20 October 2007.

  6. For instance, “Financial instability and monetary policy,” Frederic Mishkin, Member of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the Risk USA Conference, New York, 5 November 2007; “Remarks on the recent turbulences in global financial markets,” Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, at the Policy Discussion “Global Economic Policy Forum 2008,” New York University, New York, 14 April 2008.

  7. “The end of history?”, Kevin Warsh, Member of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, to the New York Association for Business Economics, New York, 7 November 2007.

  8. For instance, “Actions by the New York Fed in response to liquidity pressures in financial markets,” Timothy Geithner, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, before the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Washington, DC, 3 April 2008; “Liquidity, financial markets and the economy—the role of central banks,” José Manuel González-Páramo, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, at the Fundación Caixa Galicia, Santiago de Compostela, 16 October 2008.

  9. “The Federal Reserve’s liquidity facilities,” William Dudley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, at the Vanderbilt University Conference on Financial Markets and Financial Policy, Nashville, Tennessee, 18 April 2009.

  10. For instance, “Modernizing bank supervision and regulation,” Daniel Tarullo, Member of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, US Senate, Washington, DC, 19 March 2009; “Undervalued risk and uncertainty—some thoughts on the market turmoil,” Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, at the Fifth ECB Central Banking Conference “The Euro at Ten: Lessons and Challenges,” Frankfurt am Main, 13 November 2008.

  11. “Financial market turmoil and the Federal Reserve—the plot thickens,” Kevin Warsh, Member of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the New York University School of Law Global Economic Policy Forum, New York, 14 April 2008.

  12. “Financial market turmoil—the Federal Reserve and the challenges ahead,” William Dudley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, at the Council on Foreign Relations Corporate Conference 2009, New York, 6 March 2009.

  13. “The promise and peril of the new financial architecture,” Kevin Warsh, Member of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at New York University, New York, 6 November 2008.

  14. “Monetary policy and the ‘Great Crisis’—lessons and challenges,” Lucas Papademos, Vice President of the European Central Bank, at the 37th Economics Conference “Beyond the Crisis: Economic Policy in a New Macroeconomic Environment”, the Austrian National Bank, Vienna, 14 May 2009.

  15. “Troubled Asset Relief Program and the Federal Reserve’s liquidity facilities,” Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, before the Committee on Financial Services, US House of Representatives, Washington, DC, 18 November 2008; “A paradigm change for the global financial system,” Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, at the International Colloquium “Nouveau Monde, Nouveau Capitalisme”, Paris, 9 January 2009.

  16. “Actions by the New York Fed in response to liquidity pressures in financial markets,” Timothy Geithner, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, before the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Washington, DC, 3 April 2008; “Restoring confidence,” Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, at the International Forum Economia e Società Aperta, Bocconi University, 25 November 2008.

  17. “The Panic of 2008,” Kevin Warsh, Member of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the Council of Institutional Investors 2009 Spring Meeting, Washington, DC, 6 April 2009.

  18. For instance, “Global financial turmoil and the world economy,” Frederic Mishkin, Member of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the Caesarea Forum of the Israel Democracy Institute, Eilat, Israel, 2 July 2008; “Financial reform to address systemic risk,” Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the Council on Foreign Relations, Washington, DC, 10 March 2009; “How to deal with the global financial crisis and promote the economy’s recovery and sustained growth,” Lucas Papademos, Vice President of the European Central Bank, at the 7th European Business Summit, Brussels, 26 March 2009.

  19. For instance, “Financial market developments,” Kevin Warsh, Member of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the State University of New York at Albany’s School of Business, Albany, New York, 21 September 2007; “Hearing before the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament,” Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, at a hearing before the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, Brussels, 11 September 2007.

  20. For instance, “Housing, housing finance, and monetary policy,” Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Economic Symposium, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, 31 August 2007; “The agenda for the competitiveness of Europe’s economy and financial system,” Jürgen Stark, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, at Ambrosetti Finance Workshop, Cernobbio, 5 April 2008.

  21. For instance, “Financial market turmoil and the Federal Reserve—the plot thickens,” Kevin Warsh, Member of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the New York University School of Law Global Economic Policy Forum, New York, 14 April 2008; “Address upon receiving the 2007 “Risk Manager of the Year” Award of the Global Association of Risk Professionals,” Lucas Papademos, Vice President of the European Central Bank, at the 9th Annual Risk Management Convention & Exhibition, New York, 26 February 2008.

  22. For instance, “Addressing weaknesses in the global financial markets—the Report of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets,” Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the World Affairs Council of Greater Richmond’s Virginia Global Ambassador Award Luncheon, Richmond, Virginia, 10 April 2008; “ECB Financial Stability Review December 2007,” Lucas Papademos, Vice President of the European Central Bank, at the press briefing on the occasion of the publication of the December 2007 ECB Financial Stability Review, Frankfurt am Main, 12 December 2007.

  23. For instance, “The importance of fundamentals in risk management,” Randall Kroszner, Member of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the American Bankers Association Spring Summit Meeting, Washington, DC, 11 March 2008; “Globalisation and central bank policies,” Lucas Papademos, Vice President of the European Central Bank, at the Bridge Forum Dialogue, Luxembourg, 22 January 2008.

  24. For instance, “Liquidity-risk management in the business of banking,” Randall Kroszner, Member of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the Institute of International Bankers Annual Washington Conference, Washington, DC, 3 March 2008; “Globalisation and central bank policies,” Lucas Papademos, Vice President of the European Central Bank, at the Bridge Forum Dialogue, Luxembourg, 22 January 2008.

  25. “Addressing weaknesses in the global financial markets—the Report of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets,” Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the World Affairs Council of Greater Richmond’s Virginia Global Ambassador Award Luncheon, Richmond, Virginia, 10 April 2008; “Address upon receiving the 2007 “Risk Manager of the Year” Award of the Global Association of Risk Professionals,” Lucas Papademos, Vice President of the European Central Bank, at the 9th Annual Risk Management Convention & Exhibition, New York, 26 February 2008.

  26. “Global financial turmoil and the world economy,” Frederic Mishkin, Member of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the Caesarea Forum of the Israel Democracy Institute, Eilat, Israel, 2 July 2008.

  27. For instance, “Leveraged losses—lessons from the mortgage meltdown,” Frederic Mishkin, Member of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the US Monetary Policy Forum, New York, 29 February 2008; “Financial integration, financial innovation and development,” Lucas Papademos, Vice President of the European Central Bank, at the Second Symposium of the ECB-CFS Research Network on “Capital Markets and Financial Integration in Europe,” Frankfurt am Main, 13 February 2008.

  28. For instance, “Liquidity-risk management in the business of banking,” Randall Kroszner, Member of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the Institute of International Bankers Annual Washington Conference, Washington, DC, 3 March 2008; “Remarks on the recent turbulences in global financial markets,” Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, at the Policy Discussion “Global Economic Policy Forum 2008,” New York University, New York, 14 April 2008.

  29. “Policies to bring us out of the financial crisis and recession,” Donald Kohn, Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the Forum on Great Decisions in the Economic Crisis, College of Wooster, Ohio, 3 April 2009.

  30. Ben S Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Economic Symposium, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, 31 August 2007.

  31. For instance, “Addressing weaknesses in the global financial markets—the Report of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets,” Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the World Affairs Council of Greater Richmond’s Virginia Global Ambassador Award Luncheon, Richmond, Virginia, 10 April 2008; “Financial turmoil, securitisation and liquidity,” Jose Gonzalez-Paramo, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, at the Global ABS Conference 2008, Cannes, 1 June 2008.

  32. For instance, “The current financial challenges—policy and regulatory implications,” Timothy Geithner, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, at the Council on Foreign Relations Corporate Conference 2008, New York, 6 March 2008; “Main challenges for monetary policy in a globalised world,” Jürgen Stark, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, at the Conference “Monetary Policy in Sub Saharan Africa: Practice and Promise,” Cape Town, 28 March 2008.

  33. “Financial market turmoil—the Federal Reserve and the challenges ahead,” William Dudley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, at the Council on Foreign Relations Corporate Conference 2009, New York, 6 March 2009; “Growth and productivity of the financial sector—challenges for monetary policy,” Jürgen Stark, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, delivered at the High-Level Central Bank of Luxembourg Policy Panel, Luxembourg, 12 November 2008.

  34. “The financial crisis and global imbalances—two sides of the same coin,” Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, at the Asia Europe Economic Forum conference “The Global Financial Crisis: Policy choices in Asia and Europe,” Beijing, 9 December 2008.

  35. “The Global Saving Glut and the U.S. Current Account Deficit,” Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the Sandridge Lecture, Virginia Association of Economists, Richmond, Virginia, 10 March 2005.

  36. For instance, “Reducing systemic risk in a dynamic financial system,” Timothy Geithner, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, at The Economic Club of New York, New York, 9 June 2008; “The financial crisis and global imbalances—two sides of the same coin,” Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, at the Asia Europe Economic Forum conference “The Global Financial Crisis: Policy choices in Asia and Europe”, Beijing, 9 December 2008.

  37. For instance, “Financial reform to address systemic risk,” Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the Council on Foreign Relations, Washington, DC, 10 March 2009; “What lessons can be learned from the economic and financial crisis?”, Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, at the “5e Rencontres de l’Entreprise Européenne”, Paris, 17 March 2009.

  38. For instance, “Stabilizing the financial markets and the economy,” Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the Economic Club of New York, New York, 15 October 2008; “Reflections on the current financial market correction,” Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, at the International Capital Market Association’s Annual Conference, Vienna, 15 May 2008.

  39. “Productivity and innovation in financial services,” Donald Kohn, Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the Official Celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the Central Bank of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, 12 November 2008; “Main challenges for monetary policy in a globalised world,” Jürgen Stark, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, at the Conference “Monetary Policy in Sub Saharan Africa: Practice and Promise,” Cape Town, 28 March 2008.

  40. “Issues paper for the conference “The financial crisis and its consequences for the world economy,” Jürgen Stark, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, Tübingen, 10 December 2008.

  41. “Reducing systemic risk in a dynamic financial system,” Timothy Geithner, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, at The Economic Club of New York, New York, 9 June 2008.

  42. “What lessons can be learned from the economic and financial crisis?”, Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, at the “5e Rencontres de l’Entreprise Européenne”, Paris, 17 March 2009.

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  1. Department of Sociology, Political Science and Communication, The Open University of Israel, Raanana, Israel

    Zeev Rosenhek

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Rosenhek, Z. Diagnosing and Explaining the Global Financial Crisis: Central Banks, Epistemic Authority, and Sense Making. Int J Polit Cult Soc 26, 255–272 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10767-013-9144-9

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