This paper examines two explanations for the recent spate of complaints about crossborder monetary policy spillovers and calls for international monetary policy coordination, a development that contrasts sharply with the monetary system in the 1980s, 1990s and until recently. The first...

Recently, we evaluated a fiscal consolidation strategy for the United States that would bring the government budget into balance by gradually reducing government spending relative to GDP to the ratio that prevailed prior to the crisis (Cogan et al, JEDC 2013). Specifically, we published an...

This paper examines the 100-fold increase in reserve balances at the Fed during the second half of 2008. By looking at the balance sheet of the Fed and the factors influencing the supply and demand for reserves, the paper shows that the increase was due to large purchases of securities and loans...

My remarks focus on the relationship between monetary policy and the recent turmoil in the markets for housing, housing finance, and beyond. I begin with a review of the period leading up to the crisis. I then use this review as a basis for discussing the role of monetary policy in resolving...

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis and great recession, many countries face substantial deficits and growing debts. In the United States, federal government outlays as a ratio to GDP rose substantially from about 19.5 percent before the crisis to over 24 percent after the crisis. In...

Using alternative measures of term lending rates and counterparty risk and a wide variety of econometric specifications, we find that counterparty risk has a robust significant effect on interest rate spreads in the term inter-bank loan markets. In contrast, we do not find comparably robust...

This paper considers three simple rules-based strategies to improve and maintain financial stability. The first reforms the rules of bankruptcy to handle large financial institutions with a minimum of disruption. The second would focus macro-prudential policy on setting permanent and appropriate...

This paper presents evidence that the recession of 2007-2009 and the weak recovery have both been caused by poor economic policies, including a shift toward more discretionary, more interventionist and less predictable actions. While these policies may have led to temporary growth spurts,...

This paper shows that deviations from more rules-based policies that worked well in the Great Moderation or NICE (Non-Inflationary Consistently Expansionary) period have been a factor in the deterioration of economic performance in recent years. The policy deviations explain why the volatility...

A simple exit rule from the extraordinary measures taken by the Federal Reserve in the past two years is proposed. The rule describes the joint path of the interest rate and the level of reserves. The rule has several attractive properties including a predictable return to traditional monetary...