A Comprehensive Outreach on Monetary Policy At a Fed Listens Event: "How can we help you better understand our work so you can hold us accountable?"
September 04, 2019
Introductory Remarks
Governor Michelle W. Bowman at a Fed Listens Event sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri.
In keeping with the purpose of Fed Listens, I would like to spend most of our time in conversation, but I do want to offer a few thoughts about why the Fed is reaching out to seek a broad range of views, and what we are trying to achieve.
This kind of comprehensive outreach on monetary policy is new for the Fed. For many decades, there was a sense at the Board that the public wasn't interested or willing to dive into the complexities of monetary policy. That view has changed in a fundamental way, especially in the aftermath of the financial crisis when it was urgently important that the public understand what we were doing. So we began explaining as accessibly and clearly as we could what we were doing and why. Now we are listening broadly as well.
Since I became a Board member almost a year ago, it's become clear to me that people not only are willing to engage on complex economic issues, they also want to know that their concerns are being taken into account on issues that affect their financial well-being.
The movement toward greater transparency and public engagement is ongoing, and advancing that effort is one of my top priorities.
At the same time, we recognize that clear communication of our policies actually helps us achieve our goals. When we communicate our views on the economic outlook and our expectations for where interest rates may be heading, consumers and businesses take that information into account when making decisions on spending, investment, and hiring. For that reason, our policy communications are themselves an important part of the Fed's toolkit for influencing the direction of the economy.
Fed Listens is a natural outcome of this commitment to public engagement.
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