Financial markets seem to be anxious that a U.S. recession is on the horizon even though economic forecasters disagree. When the next recession arrives, will fiscal and monetary policy be able to respond? If so, how? The Federal Reserve is holding short-term interest rates near zero and faces resistance, internally and externally, to reviving large-scale purchases of assets. The federal debt is larger, as a share of the economy, than at any time since the end of World War II and is projected to climb further.
On March 21, the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy considered which fiscal and monetary policy tools will be available in the event of a recession—and which won’t—and how effective additional fiscal and monetary stimulus is likely to be, along with new ideas to make fiscal policy more effective.
You can join the conversation and tweet questions for the panelists at #NextRecession.
Download David Wessel’s slides »
Download Wendy Edelberg’s slides »
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Are we ready for the next recession?
Agenda
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March 21
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Fiscal policy: Congress and the president
Ben Spielberg Research Associate & Project Manager for Full Employment - Center on Budget and Policy PrioritiesPhillip L. Swagel Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute -
Introduction
David Wessel Director - The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Senior Fellow - Economic Studies @davidmwessel -
Monetary policy: The Federal Reserve
Richard Clarida C. Lowell Harriss Professor of Economics and Professor of International and Public Affairs - Columbia University, Vice Chair (former) - Board of Governors of the Federal ReserveJon Faust Director, Center for Financial Economics and Louis J. Maccini Professor of Economics - Johns Hopkins University -
Panel and Audience Q&A
Louise Sheiner The Robert S. Kerr Senior Fellow - Economic Studies, Policy Director - The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy @lsheinerRichard Clarida C. Lowell Harriss Professor of Economics and Professor of International and Public Affairs - Columbia University, Vice Chair (former) - Board of Governors of the Federal ReserveJon Faust Director, Center for Financial Economics and Louis J. Maccini Professor of Economics - Johns Hopkins UniversityPhillip L. Swagel Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
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