Central Banking 101
by Joseph J Wang · first published 2021
93% recommend7% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Short, plain-language primer on how central banks work, especially reserves, repo and reverse repo markets, QE, and the plumbing of the financial system; suits readers new to monetary policy and economics.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Big ups for Bernstein, Against The Gods was a fantastic read and I can’t wait to read Power of Gold. Another book I’d like to throw into the mix here: Central Banking 101 [0] Fantastic overview of how the current central banking system works, written post-Covid so it has some context for the extensive QE that’s been happening over the last 2 years. Author worked on the…
on “What is money, anyway?” ↗Central Banking 101 by Joseph Wang is the obvious choice and it's not even mentioned here...
on “What to read to understand central banking” ↗Most central bank news is terrible. Follow Joseph Wang- @Fedguy12 on Twitter. He’s a former Fed trader with good insights, lots of podcasts. His book, central banking 101 is fantastic, very readable.
on “The Fed has made a historic mistake on inflation” ↗…Here's what I liked so far: People (their blogs or Twitter): Paul Krugman, Cullen Roche, Lyn Alden, Joseph Wang, Aswath Damodaran, Matthew C. Klein. Books: Macroeconomics by Mankiw, Pragmatic Capitalism, Central Banking 101. Podcast, news websites: I don't follow any.
on “Money market funds swell by over $273B as investors pull deposits from banks” ↗If you've read BoE paper then I guess you are already at the 90th percentile. Here are some interesting rabbit holes I've found to be useful. 1. Central Banking 101 [1]. A terrific no non-sense book. The author is an ex-central banker. 2. Same author's blog[2] and twitter[3] handle is full of good insights and details. 3. Lyn Alden[4] writes well but know that…
on “For the First Time, the Fed Is Losing Money” ↗Read Central Banking 101 by Joseph Wang. It will explain how to predict the Fed, QE, and the cost of money/financing. Essentially the plumbing of the financial system.
on “Ask HN: How can I learn macroeconomics properly?” ↗The book Central Banking 101, by Joseph Wang, is a good deep-dive on how the accounting works on the central-banking side when money is created, etc.
on “Accounting for Developers, Part II” ↗Central Banking 101[0] is a great primer on this as well [0]: https://www.amazon.com/Central-Banking-101-Joseph-Wang/dp/09...
on “What to read to understand central banking” ↗If you find this article and comments thought provoking I recommend you read Central Banking 101 by Joseph Wang.
on “Ghana plans to buy oil with gold instead of dollars” ↗Recommend picking up a copy of Central Banking 101[1] for a gentle introduction; the basic fractional reserve banking mechanics is explained in Chapter 2. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Central-Banking-101-Joseph-Wang/dp/09...
on “Inequality, Interest Rates, Aging, and the Role of Central Banks” ↗Central Banking 101 by Joseph Wang does a great of explaining the repo and reverse repo markets. https://books.google.com/books?id=wPs_EAAAQBAJ
on “Ask HN: Concepts that clicked only years after you first encountered them?” ↗Central Banking 101 by Joseph Wang is incredible.
on “Column – a chartered bank for developers” ↗Central Banking 101 by Joseph Wang (aka The Fed Guy: https://fedguy.com/)
on “Ask HN: “government is printing money” - what does it mean in practice?” ↗Easy - Central Banking 101 by Joseph Wang. You’re welcome.
on “Resources to understand deeply how money works?” ↗Central Banking 101 by Joseph J Wang is decent.
on “Do central banks’ mounting losses actually matter?” ↗