Paul Tucker is a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and chair of the Systemic Risk Council. For more than thirty years, he was a central banker and regulator at the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements. He lives in London.
"One of Foreign Affairs' Picks for Best of Books 2018"
"One of Marketwatch's Nonfiction Best of 2018 Books"
"A book about central banking that begins with Britain’s vote to
leave the European Union, America’s election of Donald Trump as
president and Continental Europe’s rising populism is starting in
the right place. That alone gives Paul Tucker’s Unelected Power:
The Quest for Legitimacy in Central Banking and the Regulatory
State a claim as one of the more perceptive books on his subject in
recent years."---Joseph C. Sternberg, Wall Street Journal
"Tucker is refreshingly honest about the problem: across a range of
different countries, central bankers have become 'overmighty
citizens'. The contract between them and the people they are
supposed to serve needs to be rewritten."---Ed Conway, The
Times
"A comprehensive and thoughtful guide to the limits of . . .
unelected power."---Peter Thal Larsen, Reuters Breakingviews
"Tucker is refreshingly upfront about central bankers’ acquisition
of power."---Desmond King, Financial Times
"Candidates to succeed [Governor Carney] . . . should work their
way through Unelected Power. They will then have some thinking to
do."---Christopher Fildes, Standpoint
"[Unelected Power] is of fundamental importance to anyone
interested in the future of liberal democracy."---Felix Martin, New
Statesman
"[As] Paul Tucker . . . discusses in [his] masterful recent book .
. . the argument for democratic delegation is a subtle one."---Dani
Rodrik, Project Syndicate
"Paul Tucker . . . [has] published a massive, thoughtful account .
. . [which] sets out some bold [principles] for first order
agencies, like the Bank of England."---Anthony Barnett,
openDemocracy
"Unelected Power brings Tucker’s experience and intellect to bear
on a controversial issue that has hitherto been
underexplored."---Martin Vander Weyer, Literary Review
"In this important books, Paul Tucker, a former deputy governor of
the Bank of England, analyses where and how to delegate . . .
responsibilities, and where and when such delegation risks
undermining democratic legitimacy itself."---Martin Wolf, Financial
Times
"[Tucker] has produced this long and meaty book, which is all the
better for not focusing simply – as too many central bankers do –
on central banks. . . . Unelected Power is likely to be a standard
reference work for those thinking about the design of central banks
for decades to come. Many legislators could no doubt benefit from
it too."---Michael Reddell, Central Banking Journal
"Tucker has advanced public understanding by explaining why
legitimacy is essential for central banks and elucidating the
problems of achieving it. Unelected Power is a serious and
important piece of work, which students of central banking cannot
ignore."---William Allen, Financial World
"A terrific book."---Anil Padmanabhan, liveMint
"Profoundly important. . . . [Tucker’s] practical experience with
the tensions he addresses, combined with his distance from
conventional academic disciplines, makes his writing both more
accessible and more convincing than much of what is produced by
administrative-law specialists and political scientists. . . . In
the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, policymakers continue to
reassess the ways in which government and the financial sector
interact. Democratic institutions are facing a reappraisal in light
of the widespread populism of the past few years. Tucker’s
arguments ought to be carefully considered. Of the many books
written by those involved in responding to the financial crisis,
his may deserve the longest shelf life."---Lawrence Summers,
Washington Post
"Tucker’s synthesis of economics, law, political science, and
political philosophy is prodigious, and his experience on the front
lines of fighting the global financial crisis is imposing. And yet,
what is most distinctive about the book is its humility. Tucker’s
worry that he and his ilk have become 'overmighty citizens' is
palpable, and he takes seriously the idea that bureaucrats must
ultimately be servants rather than masters. . . . His attitude
comes from a kind of modern sense of noblesse oblige, heavy on the
obligation. Let us hope Tucker can inspire others who wield
unelected power to feel and act on this sense as much as he
does."---Philip A. Wallach, American Interest
"Unelected Power is likely to be a standard reference work for
those thinking about the design of central banks for decades to
come. Many legislators could no doubt benefit from it
too."---Michael Reddell, Central Banking Journal
"There is much to admire in the ambition of Tucker’s argument, and
in the clarity of his analysis."
*Survival*
"Unelected Power . . . runs the gamut from philosophy, to politics,
to economics and back again. This is much more than a policymaker’s
set of memoirs, this is a manual for righting some wrongs."---Mark
Blyth, Rhodes Center Podcast
"[It] shows how central banks have become a huge part of what
[Tucker] calls the administrative state."---Daniel Ben-Ami,
Spiked
"This is an admirably written book, very enjoyable to read, to be
strongly recommended to anyone interested in central banking and
its place in our economic and political systems. The principles
enunciated by the author are convincing and clear."---Ernst
Baltensperger, Journal of Economics
"Would Greta Thunberg enjoy Tucker’s book? Maybe not, but she might
benefit from reading it . . . . Any solution will have to be driven
by, and underpinned by, a political process. After reading Tucker’s
book, Greta may realise that this, too, is good."---Benedict King,
FiveBooks
"[Unelected Power] is a welcome contribution to current debates on
central bank independence. . . . [Tucker's] vision of central bank
independence is likely to be invoked and contested in the years to
come."---Jens van ‘t Klooster, Economics and Philosophy
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