Question

by we, bernanke meant the leaders of the federal reserve system. at the start of the depression, the federal reserves decision - making structure was decentralized and often ineffective. each district had a governor who set policies for his district, although some decisions required approval of the federal reserve board in washington, dc. the board lacked the authority and tools to act on its own and struggled to coordinate policies across districts. the governors and the board understood the need for coordination, frequently corresponded concerning important issues, and established procedures and programs, such as the open market investment committee, to institutionalize cooperation. when these efforts yielded consensus, monetary policy could be swift and effective. but when the governors disagreed, districts could and sometimes did pursue independent and occasionally contradictory courses of action. - the great depression, gary richardson according to bernanke, which factors contributed to the great depression? choose three correct answers. a consensus among federal reserve leaders a decentralized decision - making structure the establishment of the open market investment committee a lack of authority to make decisions a failure to provide decision makers with necessary tools

Explanation:

The text states that at the start of the Depression, the Federal Reserve's decision - making structure was decentralized and ineffective. The Board lacked authority and tools to act on its own. When governors disagreed, districts could pursue independent courses of action.

• a decentralized decision - making structure: Explicitly mentioned as a factor in the text.
• a lack of authority to make decisions: The Board lacked the authority to act on its own.
• a failure to provide decision makers with necessary tools: The Board also lacked the tools to act on its own.

The establishment of the Open Market Investment Committee was an effort to improve cooperation (not a contributing factor to the Depression), and a consensus among Federal Reserve leaders would have been a positive (not a contributing factor to the Depression as per the text's context of lack of consensus leading to problems).

Answer:

• a decentralized decision - making structure
• a lack of authority to make decisions
• a failure to provide decision makers with necessary tools