speeches · June 13, 2005
Speech
William Poole · President
Understanding the Term Structure of
Interest Rates
MoneyMarketeers
NewYork,NewYork
June14,2005
PublishedintheFederalReserveBankofSt.LouisReview,September/October2005,87(5),pp.589-95
Atopic much discussed in recent meeting.Ontheotherhand,akeylong-term
months is the relationship over the interestrate,theyieldon10-yearU.S.Treasury
past year or so between long-term securities,hasshownlittlepersistenttendency
and short-term interest rates. Some tochange,eitherupordown,overthesame
observershavearguedthatthefailureoflongrates period.Irefertothisdiscrepancyininterestrate
to trend up as the Fed has increased its target patternsastherecenttermstructurepuzzle.
federalfundsrateisapuzzle.Othershaveargued Theeightincreasesinthetargetfundsrate
that Fed policy is ineffective because increasing tookitfrom1percentto3percentasofMay3,
the rising short rate is not affecting the long rate. 2005.The10-yearTreasurybondrate,however,
I’ll not say much about the policy issue, but I hasexhibitedadifferentpattern.Ifwelookat
do want to address the puzzle. monthlyaveragedata,whichI’llusethroughout
However,I’mgoingtodefinethepuzzlesome- unlessindicatedotherwise,wecanseethatthe
whatnarrowly.I’llnotaddressthecurrentlow ratehasnothadapersistenttrendsincemid-2002,
leveloftherealrateofinterestonlong-termbonds.
whentheratewasabout41/2percent(aratethat
Thatsamepuzzleexistedayearago,althoughit alsoprevailedattheendof2003andagainthis
maynothavebeensoobviousatthetime.What spring).Themonthlyaveragelevelofthebond
I’lldiscussistheissueofwhythelongratehas rateincreasedbyabout90basispointsfromMarch
toJune2004,mostlyinresponsetoevidenceof
notincreasedastheFedhasraisedthetarget
strongereconomicgrowthandthebeginningof
federalfundsrate.
Fedtightening.TheJune2004levelof4.73per-
IthankmycolleaguesattheFederalReserve
centonthebondratewasthehighestsinceJune
BankofSt.Louis—especiallyEdNelson—fortheir
2002andhasnotbeenexceededsince.
assistanceandcomments.
Someobserversliketoemphasizethatthe
longratehasdeclinedsincetheFedfirststarted
raisingratesinJune2004,butIthinktheright
THE RECENT TERM STRUCTURE
observation,giventhevariabilityoftherate,is
PUZZLE
tosaythatthelongratehasfluctuatedaround
SinceJune2004,theFederalOpenMarket roughly41/2percentsincemid-2002.June2004
Committee(FOMC)hasincreasedthetargetfederal isnotthebestmonthtobegintheanalysisbecause
fundsrateby25basispointseverytimetheyhave theFed’srateincreaseswereforeseensome
met,includingtherecentmeetingonMay3. monthsinadvance.BasedontheJuly2004federal
Moreover,thefederalfundsfuturesmarketpre- fundsfuturescontract,inlate2003themarket
dictedthattheCommitteewouldraisethetarget anticipatedafundsrateof1.25percentorabove,
fundsratebyanother25basispointsatitsJune butthentheexpectedrateforJulyfelltonearly1
1
FINANCIALMARKETS
percent(i)astheFOMCmaintainedits1percent cientisabitbelow0.2;fortheperiodfromJanuary
targetfundsrateatitsJanuaryandMarch2004 1984toMarch2005,thecoefficientisabitabove
meetingsand(ii)asaconsequenceofsomewhat 0.3.Usingtheperiodfrom1984,whatthecoeffi-
weakeconomicdata.WhentheFOMCintroduced cientmeansisthatonaveragea100-basis-point
the“measuredpace”languageatitsmeetingof changeinthefundsratehasbeenassociated
May4,2004,themarketpriced-inapolicytarget witha32-basis-pointchangeinthebondratein
of1.25percentfortheJune2004FOMCmeeting. thesamedirection.Thus,overthepastyear,as
Inanyevent,I’llframethispuzzleasthefailureof thefundsrateroseby200basispoints,weshould
long-terminterestratestoincreaseasshort-term haveseenanincreaseofthebondrateofabout
interestrateshaverisensincethelatewinterand 65basispoints.Dependingonhowyoueyeball
springof2004. yourfavoritechartofthe10-yearbondrate,instead
Twophenomenadeservetobedistinguished: ofincreasing,thebondratehasbeenaboutflat,
theleveloflong-termratesandthechangeinlong ordownsomewhat,overthepastyear.
ratesasshortrateshaverisen.Lowlong-termrates
werealreadyinplacebeforetherecenttermstruc-
turepuzzle,andsomemajorfactorsbehindlow THE EXPECTATIONS THEORY OF
long-termratesdonotnecessarilyhelpinexplain-
THE TERM STRUCTURE
ingthetermstructurepuzzle,whichconcerns
Todecidewhethertherereallyisapuzzle,or
changesinrates.Mostnotably,FedGovernor
tomakesenseofthepuzzle,we’llneedtocallon
BenBernanke(2005)hasconvincinglyargued
thatthe“globalsavingglut”hasbeenadepressing economictheory.Accordingtoeconomictheory,
factoronU.S.realandnominalinterestratessince akeyreasonwhythecontemporaneousrelation-
2000.Yetthisfactordoesnotsolvethetermstruc- shipbetweenthefundsrateandthebondrateis
turepuzzle,fortwoimportantreasons.First,as farfromone-for-oneisthatchangesinthebond
noted,thegluthasbeeninforcethroughoutthis rateshouldbecloselylinkednottotoday’schange
decade,whereastheterm-structurepuzzlerefers inthefundsratebuttorevisionsinexpectations
totheperiodsinceearly2004.Second,theglut ofthefuturepathofthefundsrate.Thetheory
isasourceofdownwardpressureonrealinterest willprovideaframeworkforananalysisofthe
ratesatallmaturitiessince2001,whereastheterm recenttermstructurepuzzle.
structurepuzzleinsteadreferstotherecentflat Theessentialmessageoftheexpectations
trendofthelongratedespiteasignificantincrease theoryofthetermstructureisthatmarketforces
intheshortrate. shouldmakelonger-terminterestratesaweighted
averageoftheshort-terminterestratesexpected
toprevailoverthelifeofthebond.Theinvestor
AVERAGE HISTORICAL BEHAVIOR shouldbeindifferentbetweenmakingNconsec-
utiveinvestmentsin1-periodsecuritiesand
Thatthereisapuzzleisaconsequenceof
investinginanN-periodbond.Oratleastenough
justhowatypicaltherecentbehavioroftheterm
investorsshouldbeindifferenttoforcetheN-
structureis.Thefundsrateandbondratedotyp-
icallymoveinthesamedirection.Alinearregres- periodbondtotradeinthemarketattheweighted
sionofthefirstdifferenceofthebondrateonthe averageofthenextN1-periodbonds.Totakea
firstdifferenceofthefederalfundsrateprovides simpleexample,lettingtimebequarters,the
asimpledescriptionoftheaveragerelationship expectationstheorysaysthatthe2-quarterinterest
betweenthebondrateandfundsrate.Theregres- rateshouldbeequaltotheaverageoftoday’s1-
sionsindicatethatthecontemporaneousrela- quarterinterestrateandtheexpected1-quarter
tionshipbetweenthetwoseriesispositiveand ratenextquarter.Weassumethattoday’sexpec-
statisticallysignificant.Fortheentireperiodfrom tationofnextquarter’s1-quarterrateisbased
May1954toMarch2005,theregressioncoeffi- rationallyonallinformationavailabletoday.
2
UnderstandingtheTermStructureofInterestRates
Theargumentappliestobondratesofany fluctuateinresponsetothechangesinmultiyear
maturity.Thesimpleexpectationstheoryimplies budgetdeficitprojections,andsomeofthisfluc-
thatthe10-yearbondratereflectstheexpected tuationmayreflectrevisionstoexpectedrealrates.
pathoverthenexttenyearsoftheshort-termrate. Itisnothardtoimagineotherinformationthat
The10-yearbondrateatthebeginningofJune mightrationallyaffectinvestorexpectationsabout
2004incorporatedthe1-yearrateandthenext distantrealrates.Ultimately,theissueisanempir-
nineexpected1-yearrates,thelastofwhichwas icaloneanditdoesappearthattheexpectedreal
a1-yearrateonasecuritythatwouldbeissued shortratefluctuatesconsiderablyinpractice.
inJune2013andmatureinJune2014. Historically,expectedfuturenominalshort
Similarly,the10-yearrateprevailingatthe rateshaveoftenfluctuatedinresponsetochanges
beginningofJunethisyearincorporatedthecur-
ininflationexpectations.Overthepastyear,
rent1-yearrateandthenextnineexpected1-year
distantinflationexpectations,asmeasuredby
rates,thelastofwhichwasa1-yearrateona
thespreadbetweenconventionalandinflation-
securitythatwouldbeissuedinJune2014and
protectedbonds,havenotchangedmarkedly.
matureinJune2015.Aftercomparingthe10-year
Thus,wecanproceedbyassumingthatlong-term
bondfromayearagowiththeonetoday,wesee
expectationsofinflationhaveremainedroughly
thatnineoftheten1-yearperiodsarethesame.
constantinthepastyearbecauseofconfidence
Today’s10-yearbonddoesnotincludethe1-year
inFederalReservepoliciesand,intheabsence
rateprevailinginJune2004—thatsecurityhas
ofinformationtothecontrary,thatthereisnonew
matured.Today’s10-yearbonddoesincludethe
informationaboutfar-offrealrates.Withthese
expected1-yearrateonasecuritymaturingin
assumptions,thechangeinthelongrateisdriven
June2015.Thus,thedifferenceintheyieldsonthe
bynewinformationaboutthemedium-termpath
two10-yearbonds—lastJune’sandthisJune’s—
ofshort-termrealinterestrates.
reflectssubstitutionof(i)theexpected1-year
rateforasecuritytobeissuedinJune2014for Forexample,ifnewlypublisheddatasuggest
(ii)the1-yearrateinthemarketinJune2004for greaterpressureonaggregatedemandintheyears
thesecuritythathasjustmaturedinJune2005, immediatelyahead,agentswillexpectagreater
plusrevisionsintheexpected1-yearratestopre- degreeofoffsettingpressurefromtheFederal
vaileveryyearfrom2005through2013.Thekey Reserveintheformofhigherrealinterestrates,
tounderstandingchangesinthe10-yearrateis andtheexpectationoffuturerealrateswillbe
tounderstandrevisionsinthosenineexpected higherthantheexpectationbasedontheprior
1-yearrates. period’sinformationset.Myemphasisinthis
Tounderstandtheprocessbywhichexpected discussionisthatnewinformationaboutthestate
future1-yearratesarerevised,itisusefultopar- oftheeconomydriveschangesinlong-term
titionthe1-yearrateintoarealrateandaninfla- interestrates.
tionpremium.Howmightweanticipatefar-off
expectedrealshortratestobehave?Thisvariable
shouldrespondtonewinformationaboutthereal A DETAILED LOOK AT
shockslikelytobefacingtheeconomyseveral
JANUARY 2004–MAY 2005
yearsinthefuture.Itwouldbetemptingtothink
thatsuchnewinformationarisessoinfrequently Considerthebehaviorofbondratessince
thatthedistantshort-termrealratecouldbe thebeginningof2004fromtheperspectiveof
treatedasconstant. theexpectationstheoryofthetermstructure.In
Thereisconsiderableevidenceagainstthis January2004,the10-yearbondratewas4.15
presumption,however.Forexample,Laubach percent;inJanuary2005,itwas4.22percent.I’ll
(2003)findsthatexpectationsofshort-termnomi- concentrateoninformationthathascreatedrevi-
nalinterestratesbeyondfiveyearsinthefuture sionstofutureexpectedshortrates.
3
FINANCIALMARKETS
Table 1
Selected Changes in the 10-Year Treasury Bond Rate, January 2004–May 2005
Bond-yieldchange,
Date basispoints Mainnewsitem Source
1/6/2004 –12 Weaker-than-expectedgrowthinservicessector Reuters
1/9/2004 –16 Weaker-than-expectedpayrolldata DJNW
1/28/2004 +11 FederalReservedrops“foraconsiderableperiod” NYT
languagefromFOMCstatement
3/5/2004 –19 Weaker-than-expectedpayrolldata WSJ
4/2/2004 +24 Higherpayrolldata WSJ
4/13/2004 +10 Weaker-than-expectedretailsalesforMarch2004 DJNW
5/7/2004 +16 Better-than-expectedpayrolldata WSJ
6/15/2004 –20 Better-than-expectedMayinflation;reactionto FT
GreenspanSenatetestimony
7/16/2004 –12 Better-than-expectedJuneinflation DJNW
7/27/2004 +13 Better-than-expectedJulyconsumerconfidence DJNW
8/6/2004 –19 Lower-than-expectedpayrolldata WSJ
10/8/2004 –11 Weaker-than-expectedpayrolldata DJNW
10/27/2004 +10 Higheroilprices DJNW
11/5/2004 +11 Better-than-expectedpayrolldata WSJ
12/3/2004 –13 Weaker-than-expectedpayrolldata DJNW
12/16/2004 +10 ContinuingreactiontoFOMCstatement DJNW
3/9/2005 +14 Concernaboutspikeinoilprices NYT
4/15/2005 –10 Continuedriseinenergyprices.Disappointingreports Bloomberg
fromFordandGM
4/21/2005 +10 Better-than-expectedmanufacturingreportandjobless Bloomberg
claimsdata
NOTE:DJNW,DowJonesNewsWire;FT,FinancialTimes;NYT,NewYorkTimes;WSJ,WallStreetJournal.Datesrefertothedateof
theinterestratechange;sourcesrefertosame-daywirereportsandnext-daynewspaperreportsontheprincipaleconomicnews
accompanyingthebondratemovement.
Considerrevisionstoexpectedrealshortrates (GDP)growthin2004of4.6percent.Intheevent,
inimmediatelycomingyears.Inpasttightenings, U.S.realGDPgrowthin2004was4.4percent.In
suchasin1994,policy-inducedincreasesinreal 2004,theeconomyperformedasclosetoexpected
ratesledtosharpcontemporaneousincreasesin
aswewillfindinthehistoricalrecord.Events
bondrates.Thepastyearhasnotrepeatedthis
havenotmuchchangedtheoutlookfor2005
phenomenonbecausetheFederalReserveindi-
either.InJanuary2004,theBlueChipConsensus
cateditstighteningintentionswellinadvance
forecastfor2005realgrowthwas3.7percent;the
andbecausetheeconomyhasperformedabout
asexpected. latest(June10,2005)BlueChipforecastisforreal
Anindicationofwhatmarketswereexpect- growthof3.5percent,anextremelysmalldown-
ingasofJanuary2004isgivenbytheBlueChip wardrevisionfromtheexpectationprevailingin
Consensusforecastforrealgrossdomesticproduct January2004.
4
UnderstandingtheTermStructureofInterestRates
Tostudythismattermorecarefully,I’ve droppedfromitspressreleasethephrasethatit
examinedlargedailymovementsofthe10-year expectedpolicyaccommodationtoprevail“for
bondratesinceJanuary2004.Thesearelistedin aconsiderableperiod.”Oncethisphrasewas
Table1.Thecriterionfordetermininga“large” dropped,marketsrevisedtheirexpectationsof
movementisachangeof10basispointsormore shortratestoahigherpaththanpreviously,and
inthebondrate. bondratesaccordinglywereimmediatelyrevised
Seethetablefordetails;Iwillprovidehere upward.
theflavorofmajorfinancialnewsthatoccurred Althoughcertaindatareleasesdidsurprise
onsomeofthe“largechange”days.Thesluggish themarket,overtheperiodasawholethedata
recoveryofemploymentduringthisexpansion cameinaboutasexpected,contributingtothe
wasreflectedinweakpayrolldatathatsurprised absenceofatrendinthebondrateovertheperiod
themarketonJanuary9,2004,andMarch5,2004, atissue.Likelypolicyresponsestoeconomicdata
leadingtodeclinesinthebondrateof16basis werealsoknowninadvance;and,intheabsence
pointsand19basispoints,respectively.These ofeconomicsurprises,FOMCdecisionsonthe
employmentreportsledtorevisionsofmarket fundsrateweremuchasexpected.Thus,there
expectationstowardaslowerexpectedwithdrawal wasnoparticularreasonoverthisperiodforthe
bytheFedofitsaccommodativepolicystance, markettoreviseitsexpectationsoffutureinterest
and,accordingly,expectationsofrealshortrates ratescontinuouslyinonedirection;thebondrate
overthenextfewyearsdeclined. fluctuatedinresponsetoarrivinginformation,
Asanotherexample,theoilpricespikeon butendedupaboutwhereitstarted.
March9,2005,wasassociatedwithanincrease TheargumentIammakingisnotanewone.
inthebondrateof14basispoints.Suchbond Thereisahugeliteratureontheexpectations
rateincreasescanbeinterpretedtwoways.One theoryofthetermstructureofinterestrates,and
interpretationisthatmarketsdidnotrevise policymakershavelongbeenawareofthebasic
upwardtheirexpectationsoffutureinflationbut ideas.Forexample,theRadcliffeCommittee,a
didreviseupwardtheirexpectationsoftheFed U.K.inquiryintomonetarypolicyinthelate
monetarypolicyrequiredtokeepinflationstable. 1950s,notedthat“Itisgenerallyagreedthatthe
Alternatively,thebondrateincreasemayhave moretemporaryariseinshortratesisexpected
reflectedexpectationsthattheFedwouldaccom- tobe,thelessitwillcauselongratestorise;
modateatemporaryincreaseininflationinthe correspondingly,themoretemporaryadropis
wakeoftheoilshock. expectedtobe,thelesswilllongratesfall.”1
Expectationsoffuturemonetarypolicyhave ArthurBurns,thenFederalReserveChairman,
affectedthebondratesignificantlyfromtimeto observedin1977that“Long-terminterestrates,
time.ArecentstudybyGürkaynak,Sack,and ofcourse,areofmuchlargersignificancetothe
Swanson(2005),coveringaperiodearlierthan economythanshort-termrates;butthelong-term
thatconsideredhere,findsthatnewsaboutlikely ratesarealsoespeciallysensitivetoinflationary
futureFOMCactionsonthefundsratehasan expectations.”2Ina1976paper,Istudiedthe
importanteffectonthebondrate,distinctfrom implicationsformonetarypolicyoftheexpecta-
FOMCactionsonthecurrentfundsrate.This tionstheoryandconcludedthatthe“implications
findingis,ofcourse,inlinewiththeexpectations oftherationalexpectationshypothesisformacro
theory.Intheperiodconsideredhere,newsabout modelingareprofound...Thispointisofgreatest
futurepolicyincreasedbondratesby11basis importancefortheauctionmarketsinfinancial
pointsonJanuary28,2004,whentheFOMC assets”becausetheexpectationstheorytellsus
1 RadcliffeCommittee(1959,paragraph447).
2 Burns(1977,p.724).
5
FINANCIALMARKETS
that“long-terminterestratesadjustimmediately expectationsaboutinflation,realgrowth,and
andfullyinresponsetonewinformation.”3 Fedpolicy.
Theexpectationstheoryofthetermstructure Becausetheroleofchangesininflation
hasbeenseverelycriticizedonanumberof expectationshasbeensoimportanthistorically,
grounds,butfortheproblemathandIbelieve butnotveryimportantoverthepastdecadeor
thatthetheorytellsthebasicstorycorrectly.In so,consideranexamplefromthe1980s.The10-
sum,economicsurpriseshavebeenminimalover yearbondratedeclinedsharplyover1984-86,
thepastyearandtherehasbeennoreasonfor from11.67percentinJanuary1984to7.11percent
significantrevisioninexpectedfutureshort-term inDecember1986.KozickiandTinsley(2005,
p.427)suggestthatthisdeclinereflectedcontinued
interestrates.Thus,therehasbeennoreasonfor
adjustmentof10-year-aheadexpectationsofinfla-
asignificanttrendinlong-terminterestrates.
tioninthewakeoftheVolckerdisinflation.They
arguethatthedeclineinconsumerpriceindex
(CPI)inflationtoabout4percentin1983wasnot
FULL CIRCLE
acceptedasalastingchangeuntilthemid-1980s,
Ibeganbydiscussingtheaveragetermstruc-
whereuponitbecamemorefullyreflectedin
turerelationship,inwhichlongrateschangeby long-termbondyields.
about30basispointsforevery100-basis-point Anepisodethatmorecloselyresemblesthe
changeinshortrates.NowI’llcirclebacktothat 2004experienceistheperiod1987-89.Herethe
topic. FOMCraisedthetargetfederalfundsratesharply,
Theaveragerelationshipreflectsaverage butthelongratewasfairlytrendless.Kozickiand
businesscycleexperienceinwhichinformation Tinsley(2005,Figure1)showthatthelate1980s
surpriseschangeexpectationsaboutfutureshort wasaperiodwhere10-year-aheadexpectations
rates.Butacasualglanceatthedatawillshow ofinflationcontinuedtodecline,eventhough
howvariabletheseperiodshavebeen.Insome 1-year-aheadexpectationsrose.Therisein1-year-
cases,longratesrosebymuchmorethan30basis aheadexpectationsprobablyreflectedinflation
pointsforevery100-basis-pointincreaseinshort alreadyinthepipeline.ActualFedpolicyover
rates,andinsomecasesmuchless.Forexample, thisperiodwas,bycontrast,disinflationary.It
overthe12monthsendingJuly1987,thebond seemsthatthisepisodecorrespondstoonewhere
rateroseby115basispointswhilethefederal theFedadjusteddownitslong-runinflationobjec-
fundsratewasrisingbyonly2basispoints.In tive.Thelong-termbondmarketunderstoodthis
contrast,overthe24monthsendinginJuly1963, changeanddiscountedtheriseinCPIinflation
the10-yearbondraterosebyonly10basispoints asnotreflectingthelong-termdirectionofmone-
whilethefederalfundsratewasrisingby185 tarypolicy.
basispoints.Clearly,I’vepickedoutparticular
casestoserveasexamples;butIcanassureyou
FINAL THOUGHTS
that,ifyoulookatthedatasystematically,you
willfindthattheaveragetermstructurerelation- ItshouldbeclearbynowthatIdonotbelieve
shipofabout30basispointsonthebondratefor thatthereisatermstructurepuzzlereflectedin
every100basispointsonthefundsrateisthe interestratebehavioroverthepastyearorso.
averageofverydiverseexperience.IfIwerewrit- Recentexperienceisunusualbutfarfromunprece-
ingaPh.D.thesis,Icouldexploreingreatdetail dented.Therealeconomyhasperformedvery
theflowofinformationandhowbothshortand closetoexpectationatthebeginningof2004.The
longratesrespondedasnewinformationchanged majorsurprisehasbeenthelargeincreasein
3 Poole(1976,pp.471,503).
6
UnderstandingtheTermStructureofInterestRates
energyprices.Themarkethasinterpretedthis inthebondrate.Ihopewedonotseesuchan
increaseasarelativepricechangeandnotasign outcome,forIbelievethatthecurrentoutlook
ofhigherlong-runinflation.Thespreadbetween fortheeconomyisquitefavorable.Ihopethat
conventionalandinflation-protectedbondshas currentexpectationsarerealized.
increasedoverthenear-termhorizonbutnotover
theperiod5to10yearsout.
Thefactthatthe10-yearbondhasnotexhib- REFERENCES
itedapersistenttrendoverthepast18monthsor
Bernanke,BenS.“TheGlobalSavingGlutandthe
sowhiletheFedhasbeenincreasingthetarget
U.S.CurrentAccountDeficit.”HomerJonesLecture,
federalfundsrateby200basispointsisnotevi-
FederalReserveBankofSt.Louis,St.Louis,
dencethatsomethingisawrywithmonetary
Missouri,April14,2005;
policy.Thinkoftheissuethisway.Atthebegin-
http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/
ningofaplanningperiodtheFedhasinminda
speeches/2005/20050414/default.htm.
probablecoursefortheeconomyandexpectations
aboutthepolicyadjustmentsthatwillbeconsis- Burns,ArthurF.StatementbeforetheCommitteeon
tentwithlong-runpolicyobjectives.Supposethe Banking,FinanceandUrbanAffairs,U.S.Houseof
markethasthesameunderstandingastheFed. Representatives.FederalReserveBulletin,August
Supposealsothateventsturnoutlargelyas 1977,63,pp.721-28.
expected.Then,everythinggoesaccordingtoplan,
includingpolicyadjustmentsandthecourseof Gürkaynak,RefetS.;Sack,BrianandSwanson,Eric.
bondrates.Infact,inJanuary2004theeurodollar “DoActionsSpeakLouderThanWords?The
futurescontractforJune2005tradedatanaverage ResponseofAssetPricestoMonetaryPolicyActions
rateof2.81percent,whichwasnotfaroffthe andStatements.”InternationalJournalofCentral
targetfederalfundsrateof3.0percentsetbythe Banking,May2005,1(1),pp.55-93.
FOMConMay3,2004.
Kozicki,SharonandTinsley,P.A.“WhatDoYou
IamnotclaimingthattheFedhadafirmplan
Expect?ImperfectPolicyCredibilityandTestsof
inmindinJanuary2004toreachatargetfederal
theExpectationsHypothesis.”JournalofMonetary
fundsrateof3percentinMay2005,butrather
Economics,March2005,52(2),pp.421-47.
thateventshavesimplyworkedoutthatway,
correspondingrathercloselytothemarket’sbest
Laubach,Thomas.“NewEvidenceontheInterest
guessastohoweventswouldunfold.Inanyevent,
RateEffectsofBudgetDeficitsandDebt.”Finance
thefactthateverythinggoesaboutasexpectedis
andEconomicsDiscussionSeriesPaperNo.2003-12,
certainlynotevidenceofapolicyproblem.
FederalReserveBoard,April2003.
Iwouldbedelighted,aswouldprofessional
forecasters,forthestringofaccurateforecaststo Poole,William.“RationalExpectationsintheMacro
continue.Butwewouldbewelladvisednotto Model.”BrookingsPapersonEconomicActivity,
forgetthoseforecaststandarderrors.Theyhave April1976,2(76),pp.463-505.
notvanished.Withrespecttoforecasterrors,the
futureismorelikelytobelikethepastseveral RadcliffeCommittee.Report:Committeeonthe
decadesthanlikethepastyear.Ifrealgrowth WorkingoftheMonetarySystem.London:Her
and/orinflationdepartsignificantlyfromcurrent Majesty’sStationeryOffice.CommandPaperNo.827,
expectations,thenwewillseeapersistenttrend August1959.
7
Cite this document
APA
William Poole (2005, June 13). Speech. Speeches, Federal Reserve. https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/speech_20050614_poole
BibTeX
@misc{wtfs_speech_20050614_poole,
author = {William Poole},
title = {Speech},
year = {2005},
month = {Jun},
howpublished = {Speeches, Federal Reserve},
url = {https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/speech_20050614_poole},
note = {Retrieved via When the Fed Speaks corpus}
}