Speeches, Interviews, Essays

“Observed debt-to-GDP ratios in the U.S., Japan and some large European economies clearly exceed recommendations given a generation ago in the Maastricht Treaty.” “This is often considered unsustainable, yet the demand for this debt remains robust.” “We explore a resolution to this puzzle in a stylized model in which the equilibrium level of the debt-to-GDP…

“Against the backdrop of the rapidly evolving economic environment, our policy has been adapting, and it will continue to do so. At today’s meeting, the Committee raised the target range for the federal funds rate by ¾ percentage point, resulting in a 1½ percentage point increase in the target range so far this year. The…

“Future of blockchain applications will depend on their ability to be secure, efficient and cheap.” “DeFi still in its infancy but developing exponentially.” “Front-end: permission less access to money and payments systems and finance.” “Back-end: “Decentralized database management;” “Supply chain management;” “Proof of authenticity;” “Resilience.” “Individual and group histories are important for coordinating economic activity.”…

“We now stand at the precipice of another great technological leap: the development and deployment of quantum computing, a potentially revolutionary technology. This is an exciting time, full of opportunity but also fraught with no small amount of risk. The Federal Reserve, as the nation’s central bank and a regulator, has a strong interest in…

Regarding the labor market: “We want to see some moderation in both activity and growth in the labor market to cool things off a little bit and so I think that having the number come in, the headline number come in a little bit lower than the previous month is a good thing.” Regarding rates…

“Well, we’re on a path to bring the funds rate up quite a bit. And so as the chair indicated where he is another 50 at the next two meetings, I think that’s appropriate. I think we’ve got to be moving rates up and on a path and be intentional about it and being consistent…

“In summary, financial regulation is typically demanded (1) by financial intermediaries as a form of liability protection and (2) by the taxpayer to prevent socialization of individual losses. It does not arise to protect sophisticated, experienced, well-informed investors. On the contrary: Large-scale losses can easily occur even if these investors are getting the information they…

Regarding whether inflation has peaked: “So, on inflation I’m going to be looking to see a consistent string of decelerating monthly prints on core inflation before I’m going to feel more confident that we’re getting to the kind of inflation trajectory that’s going to get us back to our 2% goal.”

Transcript not available (link to interview provided). https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/06/02/fed-vice-chair-lael-brainard-says-itas-hard-to-see-the-case-for-the-fed-pausing-rate-hikes.html

“The FOMC raised its policy rate by 25 basis points at its March meeting and by another 50 basis points at its May meeting, and the Committee indicated that it believes ongoing rate increases will be appropriate. In addition, yesterday the Fed began reducing the size of its balance sheet according to the plan announced…