As the economy became more financialized, the politics of money considerably changed after the late 1970s. American and European central bankers first allied with conservative forces to fight inflation in the 1980s; then, that alliance unravelled after the 2008 financial crisis. Many observers gloss over this change because they see central bankers either as stewards of financialization, or as economists dedicated to economic stability. Nicolas Jabko shows how changing alliances between central bankers, economists, and politicians led to momentous shifts in monetary regimes. He argues that central bankers are technocrats who navigate and powerfully shape three overlapping arenas – their own internal monetary policy committees; the economics profession; and the broader public arena. Steeped in a machine-assisted analysis of central bank archives, Technocrats in Turmoil thus reveals the key role that the Fed and the ECB played in the waxing and waning of technocratic neoliberalism.

‘This book examines why central bankers, once the darlings of New Right politicians like Ronald Reagan, have come under attack from conservatives in recent years. Jabko’s insightful analysis of the power of monetary technocrats – and its limits – is a must-read for those scholars of political economy, history and economics interested in understanding the changing shape of economic power today.’

Jacqueline Best - University of Ottawa

Jabko locates the politics of money at the intersection of central banking, economics, and everyday political debate. That approach transforms the Fed and the ECB from impenetrable facades for power into three-dimensional spaces of decision. A path-breaking study that redefines neoliberalism and its change over time.’

Christine Desan - Harvard Law School