53 – James Bullard on Life as a Fed Bank President and Monetary Policy in 2017

In this week’s episode, Jim Bullard, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, joins the show to discuss his work as a Federal Reserve executive and as a researcher in monetary policy. Bullard shares his thoughts on why inflation has been so persistently low since 2008 and whether the Fed should pursue a more symmetric inflation target. He and David also discuss the Fed’s plans for monetary policy in 2017. In Bullard’s view, the Fed should focus on reducing its balance sheet before it turns to raising rates further. (Note: this episode was recorded on April 5, 2017) Interview transcript: https://www.mercatus.org/podcasts/04172017/macro-musings-53-james-bullard-federal-reserve David’s blog: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/ Jim Bullard’s Federal Reserve profile: https://www.stlouisfed.org/from-the-president David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth St. Louis Fed’s Twitter: @stlouisfed Related links: “Comments on the FOMC's Amendments to Its Statement on Longer-Run Goals” by James Bullard https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2016/february/bullard-comments-fomc-amendments-statement-longer-run-goals “Current Monetary Policy, the New Fiscal Policy and the Fed’s Balance Sheet” by James Bullard https://www.stlouisfed.org/~/media/Files/PDFs/Bullard/remarks/Bullard_Economic_Club_of_Memphis_24_Mar_2017.pdf?la=en “Everything the Market Thinks About Inflation Might be Wrong” by Jon Sindreu (Wall Street Journal) https://www.wsj.com/articles/everything-the-market-thinks-about-inflation-might-be-wrong-1488796206 “As Debate Rages, Simple Analogy Shows How Fed Controls Inflation” by David Beckworth (The Hill) http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-budget/324054-as-debate-rages-simple-analogy-shows-how-central-banks-still-control The Dallas Fed Trimmed Mean Inflation Rate https://www.dallasfed.org/research/pce