Few economic events of recent years have attracted as much attention as the announcement by the People?s Bank of China on July 21, 2005, that henceforth the exchange rate of the Renminbi (RMB) would not be kept fixed in relation to the U.S. dollar, but would be managed relative to a basket of...

During the early months of 2003, there was something of a buzz in monetary policy circles about the prospect of a move toward inflation targeting as a policy regime for the Federal Reserve. One leading manifestation was a prominent article in the Wall Street Journal on March 31 concerning the...

The SOMC is a collection of individuals, so we do not always agree fully on all issues. There are certain similarities of viewpoint across individuals, however, that give a recognizable flavor to most of the committee?s analyses and positions. Three leading examples are beliefs that governmental...

At our last meeting of the Shadow Open Market Committee, in April, I discussed Japanese monetary policy. Specifically, I argued (i) that it has been overly restrictive for almost a decade, (ii) that the Bank of Japan?s policy changes of March 19, 2001, are welcome but probably insufficient,...

The United States is almost alone among industrial countries in having no monetary standard. It has, that is, no institutionalized guarantee or even explicit objective concerning the purchasing power of its money. Between 1971 and 1990, this was true of most industrial countries but since then...