The Fed's Anti-Inflationary Strategy: Is it Adequate?

Inflation remains a potential longer-run threat to the health of the economy despite the progress made in reducing the inflation rate in recent years. The Fed must have a credible strategy in place to meet this threat. As Richmond Fed president Robert P. Black notes in this speech to business economists, a strategy centered around targeting monetary aggregates may still be the best approach over time, even after account is taken of the technical problems encountered in using aggregates as targets in the 1980s. Black argues that the substitution of a rule for the present discretionary approach to monetary policy would significantly increase the Fed's potential contribution to the economy's performance.