Federal Reserve Policy in the Face of Crises

Thursday, November 16, 2006
F.A. Hayek Auditorium
Cato Institute
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

| About the Conference | Conference Schedule |

Randall S. Kroszner Federal Reserve Board	William Poole Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis	Anna J. Schwartz National Bureau of Economic Research	Robert J. Barro Harvard University

The U.S. twin deficits, huge unfunded liabilities in Social Security and Medicare, and incipient inflation are eroding the foreign‐​exchange value of the dollar and its role as a reserve currency. What, if anything, should the Fed do? The uncertainty surrounding Fed policy in the post‐​Greenspan era stems from the lack of a formal monetary rule and no clear guidelines on whether and how the Fed should respond to crises.

This year’s monetary conference will address the following issues:

• How should the Fed respond to growing global imbalances and a falling dollar?




• Is global competition sufficient to discipline central banks?




• Did the Greenspan Fed err by providing too much liquidity in the face of crises and then overshooting in withdrawing that liquidity?




• How will the growing unfunded liabilities in Social Security and Medicare affect monetary policy?




• Should the Fed adopt inflation targeting?

Please join our distinguished speakers on November 16, at the Cato Institute, to discuss these and other important policy issues that confront the Bernanke Fed.

Conference Schedule

8:00 — 9:00 a.m.	Registration — F. A. Hayek Auditorium Foyer
9:00 — 9:10 a.m.	Welcoming Remarks — F. A. Hayek Auditorium Download a Podcast of the Welcoming Remarks and Keynote (MP3) James A. Dorn Vice President for Academic Affairs, Cato Institute
9:10 — 9:45 a.m.	Keynote Address Randall S. Kroszner* Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System Randall S. Kroszner’s remarks
9:45 — 11:00 a.m.	Panel 1: Responding to Financial Crises: What Role for the Fed? Download a Podcast of Panel 1 (MP3) Moderator: George Melloan Author and former op‐​ed columnist, Wall Street Journal William Poole President, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Draft of William Poole’s remarks Anna J. Schwartz Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research Draft of Anna J. Schwartz’s remarks Jeffrey A. Frankel James W. Harpel Professor of Capital Formation and Growth, Harvard University Draft of Jeffrey A. Frankel’s remarks William A. Niskanen Chairman, Cato Institute Draft of William A. Niskanen’s remarks Graph
11:00 — 11:15 a.m.	Break
11:15 a.m. — 12:30 p.m.	Panel 2: The Global Financial System: A Source of Strength or Weakness? Download a Podcast of Panel 2 (MP3) Moderator: Alan Reynolds Senior Fellow, Cato Institute Peter B. Kenen Walker Professor of Economics and International Finance Emeritus, Princeton University; Senior Fellow in International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations Draft of Peter B. Kenen’s remarks Eswar Prasad Head, Financial Studies Division, International Monetary Fund Draft of Eswar Prasad’s remarks Kristin J. Forbes Associate Professor of International Management, MIT Draft of Kristin J. Forbes’s remarks Benn Steil Director of International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations Draft of Benn Steil’s remarks
12:30 — 1:30 p.m.	Luncheon — Wintergarden
1:30 — 2:30 p.m.	Panel 3: The Growing Fiscal Imbalance and the Future of Monetary Policy Download a Podcast of Panel 3 (MP3) Moderator: Mickey Levy Chief Economist, Bank of America David Malpass Chief Economist, Bear Stearns Draft of David Malpass’s remarks Douglas Holtz‐​Eakin Paul A.Volcker Chair in International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations Draft of Douglas Holtz‐​Eakin’s remarks Jagadeesh Gokhale Senior Fellow, Cato Institute Draft of Jagadeesh Gokhale’s remarks
2:30 — 2:45 p.m.	Break
2:45 — 3:45 p.m.	Panel 4: Is Inflation Targeting Suitable for the United States? Download a Podcast of Panel 4 (MP3) Moderator: William A. Niskanen Chairman, Cato Institute Bennett T. McCallum H. J. Heinz Professor of Economics, Carnegie Mellon University Draft of Bennett T. McCallum’s remarks Lawrence H. White F. A. Hayek Professor of Economic History, University of Missouri – St. Louis Draft of Lawrence H. White’s remarks Robert Hetzel Senior Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Draft of Robert Hetzel’s remarks
3:45 — 4:15 p.m.	Closing Address Download a Podcast of Closing Remarks (MP3) Robert J. Barro M. Warburg Professor of Economics, Harvard University Draft of Robert J. Barro’s remarks
4:15 — 5:00 p.m.	Reception — Wintergarden