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Enhancing Fed Credibility

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  • Janet L Yellen

Abstract

The Fed's credibility regarding control of inflation helps to anchor public expectations of price stability. This makes the Fed's actions more predictable in any given set of circumstances and thus strengthens the monetary policy transmission mechanism and shortens policy lags. The importance of the Fed's credibility can be illustrated by the consequences of its absence in the 1970s. This paper discusses the roots of the Fed's current credibility: a systematic approach to controlling inflation, transparency of its policy decisions, and timely communication of the decisions and the considerations upon which they are based. The paper also discusses areas in which there is room for further improvement. It argues that the most important future step would be to adopt specific inflation targets. Such a step would not only enhance credibility, it would help to focus policy-making itself. While there are some risks to establishing specific numerical targets, these risks can be managed and are outweighed by the benefits of explicit targets.Business Economics (2006) 41, 7–13; doi:10.2145/20060201

Suggested Citation

  • Janet L Yellen, 2006. "Enhancing Fed Credibility," Business Economics, Palgrave Macmillan;National Association for Business Economics, vol. 41(2), pages 7-13, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:buseco:v:41:y:2006:i:2:p:7-13
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    Cited by:

    1. Eijffinger, S.C.W. & Mahieu, R.J. & Raes, L.B.D., 2012. "Can the Fed talk the Hind Legs off the Stock Market? (replaces CentER DP 2011-072)," Discussion Paper 2012-012, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    2. Ana Jordânia De Oliveira & Gabriel Caldas Montes & Rodolfo Nicolay, 2018. "Fiscal Credibility And Central Bank Credibility: How Do We Build Them? Empirical Evidence From Brazil," Anais do XLIV Encontro Nacional de Economia [Proceedings of the 44th Brazilian Economics Meeting] 43, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics].
    3. Binder, Carola, 2017. "Fed speak on main street: Central bank communication and household expectations," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 238-251.
    4. Cem Cakmakli & Selva Demiralp, 2020. "A Dynamic Evaluation of Central Bank Credibility," Koç University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum Working Papers 2015, Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum.
    5. Mellina, Sathya & Schmidt, Tobias, 2018. "The role of central bank knowledge and trust for the public's inflation expectations," Discussion Papers 32/2018, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    6. Korhonen, Iikka & Newby, Elisa, 2019. "Mastering Central Bank Communication Challenges via Twitter," BoF Economics Review 7/2019, Bank of Finland.
    7. Kevin Clinton & Roberto Garcia-Saltos & Marianne Johnson & Ondrej Kamenik & Douglas Laxton, 2010. "International Deflation Risks under Alternative Macroeconomic Policies," NBER Chapters, in: Sticky Prices and Inflation Dynamics (NBER-TCER-CEPR), pages 140-177, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Kwangyong Park, 2023. "Central Bank Credibility and Monetary Policy," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 19(2), pages 145-197, June.
    9. Sylvester Eijffinger & Ronald Mahieu & Louis Raes, 2017. "Can the Fed Talk the Hind Legs Off the Stock Market?," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 13(1), pages 53-94, February.
    10. Alissa G. Karl, 2013. "‘Bank Talk,’ Performativity And Financial Markets," Journal of Cultural Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 63-77, February.
    11. David Altig, 2018. "A new twist on an old framework: bounded price-level targeting," Business Economics, Palgrave Macmillan;National Association for Business Economics, vol. 53(3), pages 156-162, July.
    12. Willem Thorbecke & Hanjiang Zhang, 2009. "Monetary Policy Surprises and Interest Rates: Choosing between the Inflation‐Revelation and Excess Sensitivity Hypotheses," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 75(4), pages 1114-1122, April.
    13. Eijffinger, S.C.W. & Mahieu, R.J. & Raes, L.B.D., 2012. "Can the Fed Talk the Hind Legs off the Stock Market? (replaces EBC DP 2011-017)," Other publications TiSEM 2cab42f6-c75d-46ef-9801-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    14. Jane Sneddon Little & Teresa Foy Romano, 2008. "Inflation targeting: central bank practice overseas," Public Policy Brief, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

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