Focus on Monetary Policy and Inflation

Focus on Monetary Policy and Inflation

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In a July 5 commentary, University of California, Berkeley, economist Brad DeLong discussed the problem of a liquidity trap in which monetary policy becomes impotent.

A June 30 working paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that inflation forecasts based on core inflation were not superior to those based on other measures of inflation.

In a June 28 commentary, economist Scott Sumner urged the Federal Reserve to ignore estimates of slack in the economy, such as high unemployment, as an indicator of future inflation.

A June 24 study from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis warned that an easy monetary policy may create a new bubble.

On June 23, the House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing on accounting for Treasury’s gold reserves.

Also on June 23, the Congressional Research Service published a report on the history of the gold standard.

On June 22, the Federal Reserve published a statement on monetary policy based on the latest meeting of its open market committee. It continues to foresee modest economic growth requiring no change in policy.

A June 20 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco examined the yield on Treasury’s inflation-protected securities and concluded that the market’s expectations of inflation are well below those of professional forecasters.

On June 9, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis published a study on how best to measure inflation.

I last posted items on this topic on June 3.

Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and columnist who focuses on the intersection between politics and economics. He blogs daily and writes a weekly column at The Fiscal Times. Bartlett has written for Forbes Magazine and Creators Syndicate, and his work is informed by many years in government, including as a senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House. He is the author of seven books including the New York Times best-seller, Imposter: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006).

Bruce Bartlett’s columns focus on the intersection of politics and economics. The author of seven books, he worked in government for many years and was senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House.