Jan 17 AEI Event: Should the Federal Reserve Raise Its Inflation Rate Target?
Near-zero interest rates prevailed for more than a decade, raising concerns that the Federal Reserve lacked policy tools should stimulus be needed to counteract a recession. While some central banks experimented with negative rates, the Fed adopted quantitative easing (QE) to stimulate the economy without lower rates.
Some economists argue that the Fed should raise its inflation target so that normalized interest rates are high enough to allow interest rate cuts to stimulate the economy without resorting to QE. A recent Wall Street Journal article argues that an optimal inflation target could be as high as 4 percent—or even 6 percent.
Join AEI as a panel of experts discuss arguments for and against changing the Fed’s inflation target.
LIVE Q&A: Submit questions to Beatrice.Lee@aei.org or on Twitter with #AskAEIEcon
Agenda
10:00 a.m.
Introduction:
Paul H. Kupiec, Senior Fellow, AEI
10:15 a.m.
Panel Discussion
Panelists:
Charles Calomiris, Henry Kaufman Professor of Financial Institutions, Columbia Business School
Gerald P. Dwyer, Professor and BB&T Scholar, Clemson University
Thomas Hoenig, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Mercatus Center
Alex J. Pollock, Senior Fellow, Mises Institute
Moderator:
Paul H. Kupiec, Senior Fellow, AEI
11:45 a.m.
Q&A
12:00 p.m.
Adjournment