Federal Reserve Bank

Fed Policy: Is it Time to Take Away the Punch Bowl?

By Kenneth Kuttner·February 18, 2019
Williams College

The Issue:

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates low (and took extraordinary expansionary actions) in response to the financial and economic crisis that began in the autumn of 2008. Beginning in December 2015, as the recovery gained traction, the Fed began gradually raising the federal funds rate, the interest

What’s the Problem with Low Inflation?

By Michael Klein·August 6, 2017
Fletcher School, Tufts University

The Issue:

Today's low inflation has some economists puzzled. The Federal Reserve has persistently undershot its inflation target of 2 percent since 2012, when it established this level of inflation as one of its policy goals. Modest inflation has a number of benefits, and some concerns have been raised by the persistence ...
Read more

Leaning on The Fed

By Michael Klein·April 13, 2017
Fletcher School, Tufts University

The Issue:

The Federal Reserve walks a tight balance between maintaining low unemployment and preventing the economy from heating up and unleashing inflation. Its decisions impact groups differently: raising interest rates can be painful for borrowers and businesses seeking to invest and expand; lowering them can ...
Read more