A Limited Central Bank As the Fed begins its 100th anniversary year, I believe it is entirely appropriate to reflect on its history and its future. At the same time, we need to reflect on what I believe is the Federal Reserve’s essential role and how it might be improved as an institution to better fulfill that role.1 Douglass C. North was cowinner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work on the role that institutions play in economic growth.2 North argued that ...