Nervous Eyes On Greenspan's Big Shoes
At 76, Alan Greenspan is the oldest Federal Reserve chairman in history, and almost daily new rumors circulate that he is about to fade into the wings after his long run on stage as the world's premier central banker.</br></br>In all probability, the rumors are wrong. Greenspan clearly still relishes his powerful position, and he shows no sign of leaving anytime soon, according to colleagues at the Fed, Bush administration officials and others who see him, most of whom spoke on the condition that they not be identified.</br></br>But given Greenspan's age and other factors, including the current turmoil in world financial markets, there is a slowly growing sense of unease in the markets and among policymakers over the fact that at some point someone else will have to take over his role.</br></br>Early this year senior administration officials began assembling lists of possible candidates, but the process has gone no further, an official said. And while economists have speculated publicly about the chances of several possibilities -- including Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs John B. Taylor, New York Federal Reserve Bank President William J. McDonough and White House economic adviser Lawrence B. Lindsey -- none of these figures has emerged as a likely choice, for now.</br></br>Among the reasons for unease is that there's no script for a successor to follow. Greenspan's leadership of the Fed has been highly personal, like that of many of his predecessors. Several books and countless articles have been written about him, the way he has operated, and the success or failure of his actions. But there's no "Greenspan method," no ready formula for a successor to apply. That has caused some economists and one or two Fed officials to argue that the central bank should adopt some type of rule, such as setting an explicit inflation target, to guide its policy in the future.