The specification of an optimizing model of the monetary transmission mechanism requires selecting a policy regime, commonly commitment or discretion. In this paper, we propose a new procedure for testing optimal monetary policy, relying on moment inequalities that nest commitment and discretion...

The housing market crisis is the latest reminder that asset prices can and do run wild at rates capable of negative effects on real economic activity. Not surprisingly, this has reinvigorated debate over whether central banks should respond to asset price bubbles.

At the onset of the COVID-19 economic crisis, as in other crisis episodes, the flight to safety was accompanied by a rapid appreciation of “safe haven” currencies. We quantify currency-induced balance sheet effects for total external positions as well as for individual asset classes using...

Presentation to the Missouri Bankers Association Senior Bank Management Conference, Acapulco, Mexico - Jan. 15, 2001

Presentation at the University of Missouri-Columbia - Nov. 4, 1999