US

Raising Interest Rates

The Fed should wait until its preferred measure of inflation (Core PCE) is clearly rising — and not just forecast to rise — before it begins hiking interest rates.

Responses weighted by each expert's confidence

Participant University Vote Confidence Bio/Vote History
Acemoglu
Daron Acemoglu
MIT
Disagree
5
Bio/Vote History
I am worried about misallocation of capital & the wrong type of risk-taking resulting from extended periods of very very low interest rates.
Alesina
Alberto Alesina
Harvard Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Altonji
Joseph Altonji
Yale Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Auerbach
Alan Auerbach
Berkeley
Disagree
5
Bio/Vote History
Autor
David Autor
MIT
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Tight labor markets raise many boats. Don't let the tide out prematurely.
Baicker
Katherine Baicker
University of Chicago Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Banerjee
Abhijit Banerjee
MIT
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Bertrand
Marianne Bertrand
Chicago
Uncertain
1
Bio/Vote History
Brunnermeier
Markus Brunnermeier
Princeton Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Chetty
Raj Chetty
Harvard Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Chevalier
Judith Chevalier
Yale
Agree
4
Bio/Vote History
Cutler
David Cutler
Harvard
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
Deaton
Angus Deaton
Princeton
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
Duffie
Darrell Duffie
Stanford
Strongly Disagree
9
Bio/Vote History
As Gretzky said, "skate to where the puck will be." Inflation normally takes time to form, often 2 years or more. The Fed can judge timing.
Edlin
Aaron Edlin
Berkeley
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Eichengreen
Barry Eichengreen
Berkeley
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Einav
Liran Einav
Stanford
Uncertain
3
Bio/Vote History
Fair
Ray Fair
Yale
Disagree
3
Bio/Vote History
Finkelstein
Amy Finkelstein
MIT Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Goldberg
Pinelopi Goldberg
Yale Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Goolsbee
Austan Goolsbee
Chicago
Strongly Agree
10
Bio/Vote History
Go look at their forecasts for the last 6 years. thank god they didn't act based on those.
Greenstone
Michael Greenstone
University of Chicago
Agree
4
Bio/Vote History
i THINK risks of too little growth outweigh the risks of overshooting inflation target. judgment call bc little evidence is available
Hall
Robert Hall
Stanford
Disagree
9
Bio/Vote History
Confusion here between rates of change and levels. The Fed should tighten when expected inflation is above target, not just when rising.
Hart
Oliver Hart
Harvard
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
The recovery is anemic and I am more concerned that it will fizzle than I am worried about inflation. The Fed should not be too cautious.
Holmström
Bengt Holmström
MIT
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Hoxby
Caroline Hoxby
Stanford
Disagree
8
Bio/Vote History
The statement would appear to be inconsistent with the empirical evidence of past inflation episodes.
Hoynes
Hilary Hoynes
Berkeley
Agree
4
Bio/Vote History
Judd
Kenneth Judd
Stanford
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Kaplan
Steven Kaplan
Chicago Booth
Disagree
7
Bio/Vote History
Kashyap
Anil Kashyap
Chicago Booth
Uncertain
7
Bio/Vote History
Models focusing on uncertainty about labor mkt slack and the real rate might imply this; financial stability concerns can cut the other way
-see background information here
Klenow
Pete Klenow
Stanford
Disagree
5
Bio/Vote History
The Fed has been and should be forward-looking.
-see background information here
Levin
Jonathan Levin
Stanford
Uncertain
4
Bio/Vote History
Maskin
Eric Maskin
Harvard
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Nordhaus
William Nordhaus
Yale
Agree
9
Bio/Vote History
Imprecisely worded but gets the basic idea. Major point is that Fed should make sure US is not at a low nominal rate equilibrium.
Saez
Emmanuel Saez
Berkeley
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Samuelson
Larry Samuelson
Yale
Uncertain
1
Bio/Vote History
Other factors, such as unemployment and participation rates, should also enter the Fed's decision.
Scheinkman
José Scheinkman
Columbia University
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Schmalensee
Richard Schmalensee
MIT
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Shapiro
Carl Shapiro
Berkeley
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
Shimer
Robert Shimer
University of Chicago
Disagree
5
Bio/Vote History
The Fed should raise rates when forecast inflation is above target. Now the hard question: what forecast is better than current inflation?
Thaler
Richard Thaler
Chicago Booth
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
Cost of waiting too long < cost of shooting too soon. Those predicting imminent inflation have been wrong for years.
Udry
Christopher Udry
Northwestern
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History