The Legacy of Bennett McCallum and Lessons for Monetary Policy Today

Event Description

December 2022 saw the unfortunate passing of economist Bennett McCallum, a prolific academic who did influential work on monetary policy rules, monetary policy targets, and central bank independence. His legacy of collegiality, thoughtfulness, and intellectual impact will be long-lasting.

Please join us for a special conference, “The Legacy of Bennett McCallum and Lessons for Monetary Policy Today,” to remember the life and work of McCallum and to discuss monetary policy with McCallum’s ideas in mind. The event will feature panel discussions on monetary policy rules, nominal GDP targeting, monetary policy tools, and the future of Federal Reserve governance. Speakers will include former and current academics and policymakers. Federal Reserve Governor Chris Waller will deliver the keynote address.

Agenda

8:30 AM–9:00 AM | Registration

9:00 AM–9:50 AM | Macro Musings Podcast: A Conversation on Bennett McCallum’s Life

• David Beckworth, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
• Edward Nelson, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

10:00 AM–11:15 AM | Monetary Policy Rules in a Post-Pandemic World

• Greg Ip (Moderator), Chief Economics Commentator, The Wall Street Journal
• Joshua Hendrickson, Chair of the Department of Economics, University of Mississippi
• Robert Hetzel, Visiting Scholar, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
• Athanasios Orphanides, Professor of the Practice of Global Economics and Management, MIT Sloan School of Management

11:30 AM–12:45 PM | NGDP Targeting: A Framework for the 21st Century? 

• Jeanna Smialek (Moderator), Reporter,  The New York Times
• James Bullard, Dean of Purdue University’s Daniels School of Business and former Chief Executive Officer and President, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
• Carola Binder, Associate Professor of Economics, Haverford College

1:00 PM–2:00 PM | Lunch & Keynote Address: The Evolution of Monetary Policy

• Chris Waller, Governor, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

2:15 PM–3:30 PM |  The Fed’s Toolkit: Tuning Up the Fed’s Monetary Policy Instruments

• Victoria Guida (Moderator), Economics Reporter, Politico
• Peter Ireland, Murray and Monti Professor, Department of Economics, Boston College
• Eric Leeper, Paul Goodloe McIntire Professor in Economics, University of Virginia
• Peter Stella, Former Chief of the International Monetary Fund Central Banking Division

3:45 PM–5:00 PM | What is the Future of Federal Reserve Governance?

• Craig Torres (Moderator), Reporter, Bloomberg
• Thomas Hoenig, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
• Jeffrey Lacker, Former President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
• Esther George, Former President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City