The Financial System and the Central Bank

Harvard FAS

This course analyzes the modern financial system. Topics include: (i) the behavior of various types of intermediaries (e.g., banks, broker-dealers, mutual funds, hedge funds); (ii) key elements of the system's plumbing and infrastructure; (iii) sources of systemic risk; and (iv) the multiple roles of the central bank as monetary policymaker, lender of last resort, and regulator.