Fed Announces Leadership, Members of Five Task Forces

The leadership and objectives of Kevin Warsh’s five Federal Reserve task forces to advance the conduct of monetary policy were announced Thursday by the central bank.

Warsh announced the task forces on June 17 after the FOMC’s recent meeting.

“The Federal Reserve’s commitment to price stability and maximum employment is unwavering. As is our resolve to pursue our mandate with rigor,” Warsh said in a release. “The U.S. economy has changed significantly over the last generation, and never more so than right now. Each task force will carefully consider whether policymakers’ means and methods, analytical tools and policy approaches can be improved upon. I am honored that the best minds from a range of disciplines have agreed to work with us to sharpen our performance as an institution. The goal is straightforward: to ensure the Fed is best positioned to achieve our objectives in this consequential time.”

Monetary Policy

The Fed said that the task forces will examine areas central to the broad conduct of monetary policy.

The task forces will be co-led by external advisers—accomplished economists, business leaders, and former central bank practitioners—with deep expertise in their fields.

Supported by Federal Reserve staff, the task forces will operate independently, with a mandate to follow the evidence, provide candid feedback, and produce rigorous findings for the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed said.

The leaders of the five task forces are:

Communications: Review how the Federal Reserve conveys policy deliberations and decisions amid uncertainty.

• Peter R. Fisher, professor of practice, Foster School of Business, University of Washington
• Arminio Fraga, founder and chairman, Gávea Investimentos; former president, Central Bank of Brazil
• Mervyn King, former governor, Bank of England

Balance Sheet Policy: Examine the costs, benefits, and institutional implications of the Federal Reserve’s current balance sheet regime.

• Karen Dynan, professor of economics, Harvard University
• Raghuram Rajan, professor of finance, University of Chicago Booth School of Business; former governor, Reserve Bank of India
• Jeremy Stein, professor of economics, Harvard University; former governor, Federal Reserve Board

Data: Improve the quality and timeliness of real economic signals that inform the Federal Reserve’s policy judgments.

• Raj Chetty, professor of economics, Harvard University
• Doug McMillon, former president and CEO, Walmart Inc.
• Kevin Murphy, professor of economics, University of Chicago

Productivity and Jobs: Assess the economic impact of new general-purpose technologies, including artificial intelligence, to inform the Federal Reserve’s policy judgments.

• Marc Andreessen, cofounder and general partner, Andreessen Horowitz
• Charles I. Jones, professor of economics, Stanford University, currently on leave at Anthropic
• Asha Sharma, executive vice president and XBOX CEO, Microsoft Corp.

Inflation Frameworks: Revisit how the Federal Reserve understands and responds to the drivers of inflation.

• Greg Mankiw, professor of economics, Harvard University; former chairman, Council of Economic Advisers
• Thomas Sargent, professor of economics, New York University; Nobel laureate
• William White, senior fellow, C.D. Howe Institute; former economic adviser, Bank for
• International Settlements

The Fed said that more information on the task forces and topics will be posted periodically on its website.

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