Category Archives: Monetary Policy
A Fast and Fun Way to Learn about Rules Versus Discretion
The Hoover Institution has initiated a fascinating Perspectives on Policy video series in which experienced experts give clear explanations of key policy issues assisted by the latest in animation technology. This is not the typical video of talking heads as … Continue reading
Posted in Monetary Policy
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Central Bank Independence Is Not Enough
Four former chairs of the Fed wrote in the Wall Street Journal today about the importance of Fed independence. I agree, but their article should have emphasized that independence is not enough. Economic performance has been affected by large shifts … Continue reading
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Africa Meeting of Econometricians: History, Revival and Ways Forward
I just spent a wonderful few days at the 2019 Africa Meeting of the Econometric Society held in Rabat, Morocco with the central bank, the Bank Al-Maghrib, providing an excellent venue. Congratulations to the Bank Al Maghrib for its 60th … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Crisis, Monetary Policy
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Recent Decisions and Rules of the Fed
Last week, after attending monetary policy conferences at Stanford, Chicago and Frankfurt, I put forth evidence in EconomicsOne.com of a revival of research on monetary policy rules for the instruments, whether at the conferences, in research papers, or in Fed publications. … Continue reading
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Three Attributes of a Sustainable Open and Stable Global Order
The IMF/World Bank meetings were held in Bali last week. In addition to the many good beaches there were many good panels including one I was on with Mark Carney and Agustin Carstens. It was organized by the Group of … Continue reading
Econ 1, Tiger Woods, and the Crisis@10
Today is the first day of the fall quarter at Stanford, and I begin teaching Economics 1, the introductory economics course, and the course after which this blog is named. The first day is always exciting, especially with many first-year … Continue reading
Turkey Tantrum Contagion Not Automatic, Rather Policy Dependent
Many have been talking about possible international contagion of the financial crisis in Turkey, and Peter Coy touched on the key issues in yesterday’s Bloomberg piece. Recent economic history and theory offer powerful lessons about contagion. Most important is that … Continue reading
Rules and Strategies in the Fed’s New Monetary Policy Report
The Fed’s Monetary Policy Report released last Friday devotes a lot of space to monetary policy rules. This is the third time in a row that the monetary policy report has included such discussions, the first being in July 2017 … Continue reading
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What We Wanted We Got: A Debate on the Fed’s Balance Sheet
A big question addressed at this year’s annual Hoover monetary conference was “The Future of the Central Bank Balance Sheet,” including the amount of reserve balances that banks hold at the Fed. The issue is one that “the [Federal Reserve] … Continue reading
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Still Crazy After All These Years—And What About the Next 50
Yesterday I was talking to a friend in my office about the great benefit to students from writing undergraduate honors theses in their senior year. I have long advised students to do so, perhaps because of the rewarding experience I … Continue reading
Posted in Monetary Policy, Teaching Economics
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Economics One 