Federal Reserve

Ina Hajdini, Adam Shapiro, A. Lee Smith, and Daniel VillarThis paper reviews the drivers of the post-pandemic U.S. inflation surge and subsequent decline, including the behavior and role of inflation expectations. The sharp rise in inflation reflected severe imbalances between supply and demand stemming from the shocks of the pandemic and the policy response.

Michael Bauer, Travis Berge, Giuseppe Fiori, Francesca Loria, and Molin ZhongThis paper discusses the measurement, assessment, and communication of risks and uncertainty that are relevant for monetary policy.

Anna Lipińska, Enrique Martínez García, and Felipe SchwartzmanThis paper examines the drivers of the 2020–23 inflation surge, with an emphasis on the similarities and differences across countries, as well as the role that monetary policy frameworks might have played in shaping central banks’ responses. The inflation surge in the U.S. and abroad was set in motion by two global events: the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Brent Bundick, Isabel Cairó, and Nicolas Petrosky-NadeauThis paper reviews recent academic studies to assess the implications of adopting a shortfalls, rather than a deviations, approach to pursuing maximum employment. Model-based simulations from these studies suggest three main findings. First, shortfalls rules generate inflationary pressure relative to deviations rules, which offsets downward pressure on inflation stemming from the presence of the effective lower bound.