Attention Economy


Friday, August 26, 2016

Central Banks and Monetary Policy – Theory and Practice

Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen – The Federal Reserve’s Monetary Policy Toolkit: Past, Present, and Future

WSJ piece - Central Bankers’ Main Challenge: Staying Relevant

An interesting critique of Fed policies:
Years of Fed Missteps Fueled Disillusion with the Economy and Washington by Jon Hilsenrath
“In the 1990s, a period known in economics as the “Great Moderation,” it seemed the Fed could do no wrong. Policy makers and voters saw it as a machine, with buttons officials could push to heat or cool the economy as needed. Now, after more than a decade of economic disappointment, the central bank confronts hardened public skepticism and growing self-doubt about its own understanding of how the U.S. economy works.
For anyone seeking to explain one of the most unpredictable political seasons in modern history, with the rise of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, a prime suspect is public dismay in institutions guiding the economy and government. The Fed in particular is a case study in how the conventional wisdom of the late 1990s on a wide range of economic issues, including trade, technology and central banking, has since slowly unraveled.”

Related:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/08/22/jackson-hole-the-three-tough-questions-central-banks-must-ask-th/

Concerns grow over negative interest rates:
http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/08/why-negative-interest-rates-are-mad-bad-and-dangerous/