Unconventional Times, Unconventional Measures: A Conversation with Federal Reserve Board Governor Jeremy Stein

Amid a weak and uneven economic recovery, the Federal Reserve announced in mid-September that it would undertake further large-scale asset purchases, sometimes known as “quantitative easing,” in order to provide additional support to the U.S. economy. With its traditional tool of monetary policy—the federal funds rate—at close to zero, the Federal Reserve has entered new policy territory by implementing several waves of quantitative easing over the last four years. While such programs are designed to ease financial conditions and, in turn, foster demand and increase employment, they are thought by some to carry important risks. As a result, they have been the source of some controversy.

On October 11, Economic Studies at Brookings hosted a discussion with recently appointed Federal Reserve governor, Jeremy Stein. Vice President and Co-Director of Economic Studies Karen Dynan gave introductory remarks, and Brookings Senior Fellow Donald Kohn moderated a question and answer session. Governor Stein also took questions from the audience.

The event was broadcast live on C-SPAN »

Read Jeremy Stein’s prepared speech at federalreserve.gov »