A Review Essay: David Kynaston's Till Time's Last Sand: A History of the Bank of England, 1694–2013

Charles Bean

Journal of Economic Literature, 2019, vol. 57, issue 4, 972-87

Abstract: This essay reviews Till Time's Last Sand: A History of the Bank of England, 1694–2013, David Kynaston's history of the Bank of England (the Bank) from its foundation in 1694 to the present day. I focus on three themes running through his narrative. First, for much of that time, the Bank was a private company playing a public role; how did it manage to do this and why was it eventually brought into public ownership? Second, I examine the various attempts to constrain the Bank's monetary policy to follow a simple rule; these almost invariably proved unsustainable unless the rule provided enough room for discretion. Finally, I cover the Bank's journey to becoming the lender of last resort, together with its evolving attitude to the associated risk of moral hazard.

JEL-codes: E52 E58 N13 N14 N23 N24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
Note: DOI: 10.1257/jel.20181512
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