In the middle of America's worst economic crisis, the Federal Reserve System (FED) assumed an important and essential role in the economic recovery process. In this conference, Randall Kroszner talks about his experience at the FED as a former member, explaining the techniques and ideas that guided their actions amidst this difficult situation.

He explains the historical parallel of this crisis and compares it with the Panic of 1907, and contrasts the guides and actions taken formerly with the ones the FED took presently. He also speaks about the economic phenomena of deflation and inflation and how particularly deflation could affect the U.S. economy, based on current economic tendencies. Kroszner focuses on the importance of economic history in the decision-making process in many aspects; and finally, he speaks about the controversial aspects of government intervention, based on the ideas of Milton Friedman.