This paper compares the role of stochastic volatility versus changes in monetary policy rules in accounting for the time-varying volatility of U.S. aggregate data. Of special interest to the authors is understanding the sources of the great moderation of business cycle fluctuations that the U.S....

Includes descriptive metadata provided by producer in QuickTime movie file: "Politics, Economics and Social Issues - Video - Paul Volcker talks about the economic crisis." By Vanderbilt University. Paul A. Volcker, senior economic advisor to President Obama and former chairman of the Federal...

With the introduction of monetary union, the US Federal Reserve system has become a common reference point against which to compare the procedures and policies of the fledgling ECB. This paper provides a brief overview of US monetary policy. The paper discusses the legal and institutional...

Using data from the period 1970-1991, Romer and Romer (2000) showed that Federal Reserve forecasts of inflation and output were superior to those provided by commercial forecasters. In this paper, we show that this superior forecasting performance deteriorated after 1991. Over the decade...