The benefits of independent monetary policymaking in an uncertain world
A Sir Leslie Melville public lecture from Loretta J. Mester, former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Hosted by The Australian National University Research School of Economics.
This lecture focuses on the benefits of setting monetary policy independent of short-run political consideration, looking closely at the Federal Reserve System. Loretta provides some background on the structure of the Federal Reserve System, and the rationale for why it was designed this way. She then discusses what is meant by independent monetary policy, and what the benefits are for businesses and households. Loretta emphasises the importance of these points in light of the considerable uncertainty about the economic outlook.