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Alan Greenspan, who served five four-year terms as Federal Reserve chairman and fundamentally transformed the central bank's power, mandate, and operating framework, died at the age of 100.
Greenspan took the chairmanship in July 1987, inheriting an institution already commanding broad authority under Paul Volcker — a reach documented that same year in the book "Secrets of the Temple" — and proceeded to deepen its reach across domestic markets and international banking.
From Monetarism to Data Dependence Greenspan's most consequential policy shift was moving the Fed away from Volcker's monetarism and control of the M2 money supply — a framework some blamed for the depth of the 1982 recession — toward data dependence and federal funds rate targeting.
Known as a data geek among peers, Greenspan drew on unconventional indicators including rail car loadings and production tonnage to calibrate the appropriate policy rate.
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