Monthly Archives: March 2015
Was Janet Yellen Test Driving the Policy Rule Bill?
In a speech last week Fed Chair Janet Yellen made use of policy rules, and in particular the Taylor rule, to explain her views on normalizing policy. This comes on the heels of Fed Vice-Chair Stanley Fischer’s reference to the … Continue reading
Posted in Monetary Policy
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Bernanke Says “The Fed Has a Rule.” But It’s Only Constrained Discretion and It Hasn’t Worked
In response to a question about the policy rules bill at Brookings recently, Ben Bernanke remarked that the “The Fed has a rule.” His claim surprised quite a few people, especially given the Fed’s resistance to the policy rules bill, so … Continue reading
Posted in Monetary Policy
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Central Banks Without Rules Are Like Doctors Without Checklists
Recent proposals for policy rules legislation have led to a fascinating replay of issues that have long been at the heart of the rules versus discretion debate. Larry Summers raised one in a debate between him and me at the … Continue reading
Posted in Monetary Policy, Teaching Economics
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Witness Allan Meltzer and the Ouija Board Analogy
Last week the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing about monetary reform and the need for “responsible oversight” of the Fed as Senator Richard Shelby, the Committee Chair, put it. Allan Meltzer was a witness, and I sat next to … Continue reading
Posted in Monetary Policy, Regulatory Policy
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Which Fed Bill Would Milton Friedman Have Liked?
Writing last week on the Cato at Liberty blog, Steve Hanke argued that Milton Friedman would have supported the “Audit the Fed” bill recently introduced in the Senate. Steve’s reasoning is based on Friedman’s 1962 essay “Should there be an … Continue reading
Posted in Monetary Policy
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Liberate the Recovery
My piece in today’s Wall Street Journal “A Recovery Waiting to Be Liberated,” starts with data showing that economic growth last year was in the end disappointing again. So far this year it looks even worse: Macroeconomic Advisers one of … Continue reading
Posted in Slow Recovery
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Economics One 