Monetary Policy
By minimizing the harm caused by recessions and high inflations, monetary policy can promote economic stability and create an environment in which individuals and businesses prosper and thrive. In pursuit of these goals, Mercatus research shows why and how the Federal Reserve should (a) follow a rules-based approach to making policy, (b) increase its transparency and accountability to the public, and (c) better utilize market signals.
Featured
Latest work in Monetary Policy
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Ruth Judson on Chasing Dollars Around the World
From global cash hoards to counterfeiters to capital flow data, mapping the dollar’s worldwide journey
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Fed Already Has What It Needs to Navigate Supply Shocks | Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Neha Narula, Anders Brownworth, and Daniel Aronoff on Understanding Stablecoins in the GENIUS Era
Has the stablecoin horse left the barn in the US?
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Jesús Fernández-Villaverde on the Quandary of Global Demographic Decline
Can AI fix the problem of our shrinking population?
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Measuring Macroeconomic Policy: the NGDP Gap
The NGDP gap is a benchmark measure created by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. It helps assess whether macroeconomic policy is expansionary or contractionary.
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Case for a Smaller Federal Reserve Asset Portfolio
A smaller Fed balance sheet would reduce inflation risk and fiscal dominance as debt climbs
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Dan Awrey on the Future of the U.S. Payments System in a Digital World
Was the GENIUS act actually genius when it comes to payments?
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Three Views of QE: Irrelevance, Insurance, and Irreversibility | Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Comments on Docket No. OP-1877, Request for Information and Comment on Reserve Bank Payment Account Prototype
How the Fed can implement the RBPA in an efficient manner that supports liquidity under stress
Latest work in Monetary Policy
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Ruth Judson on Chasing Dollars Around the World
From global cash hoards to counterfeiters to capital flow data, mapping the dollar’s worldwide journey
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Fed Already Has What It Needs to Navigate Supply Shocks | Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Bill Nelson on the Future of the Fed’s Balance Sheet
Is the Fed profitable again?
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Reforming the Federal Reserve: Will Kevin Warsh Make the Fed Transparent and Accountable?
How proposed reforms could reshape FOMC deliberation, policy rules, and oversight
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Raghuram Rajan on the Impact of the Ratcheting Effect of The Fed’s QE Program
What can the Fed learn from the monetary policy of emerging economies like India?
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Warsh Eyes Slashing the Fed’s Balance Sheet. How He Could Do It. | Barron’s
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Stablecoins Behave Like Money, But Are They Built Like It? | Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Defending Fed Independence Through Transparency, Accountability, and Rule-Based Monetary Policy
An independent Fed can anchor inflation expectations and resist political pressure
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Andrew Martinez on the Art of Forecasting
What does the NGDP Gap reveal about monetary policy?
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Feature Feature
Sound Money and Growth or Inflation and Social Unrest in the Historical Context | Echelon
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Warsh Eyes Slashing the Fed’s Balance Sheet. How He Could Do It. | Barron’s
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Stablecoins Behave Like Money, But Are They Built Like It? | Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Defending Fed Independence Through Transparency, Accountability, and Rule-Based Monetary Policy
An independent Fed can anchor inflation expectations and resist political pressure
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Case for a Smaller Federal Reserve Asset Portfolio
A smaller Fed balance sheet would reduce inflation risk and fiscal dominance as debt climbs
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Andrew Martinez on the Art of Forecasting
What does the NGDP Gap reveal about monetary policy?
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Feature Feature
Sound Money and Growth or Inflation and Social Unrest in the Historical Context | Echelon
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Dan Awrey on the Future of the U.S. Payments System in a Digital World
Was the GENIUS act actually genius when it comes to payments?
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Three Views of QE: Irrelevance, Insurance, and Irreversibility | Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Comments on Docket No. OP-1877, Request for Information and Comment on Reserve Bank Payment Account Prototype
How the Fed can implement the RBPA in an efficient manner that supports liquidity under stress
Latest work in Monetary Policy
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Working Papers Working Papers
How Much Did Macroeconomic Policy Matter? A New Decomposition of the US Inflation Surge of 2021–22
Inflation surged as demand ran hot—NGDP trends offer a tool for prevention
Latest work in Monetary Policy
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Financial Markets Financial Markets
- | Essays Essays
Market Monetarism: Roadmap to economic prosperity
Marcus Nunes and Benjamin Cole
Latest work in Monetary Policy
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Reforming the Federal Reserve: Will Kevin Warsh Make the Fed Transparent and Accountable?
How proposed reforms could reshape FOMC deliberation, policy rules, and oversight
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Measuring Macroeconomic Policy: the NGDP Gap
The NGDP gap is a benchmark measure created by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. It helps assess whether macroeconomic policy is expansionary or contractionary.
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Defending Fed Independence Through Transparency, Accountability, and Rule-Based Monetary Policy
An independent Fed can anchor inflation expectations and resist political pressure
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Case for a Smaller Federal Reserve Asset Portfolio
A smaller Fed balance sheet would reduce inflation risk and fiscal dominance as debt climbs
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Mysterium Body Called the Fed: How Discretion Obscures Accountability
Why the Federal Reserve needs a rule-based framework
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Fed’s 2024–25 Framework Review: Optimizing the Dual Mandate Through Nominal GDP Level Targeting
As the Federal Reserve considers how to implement its dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment, it should adopt—or approach—nominal GDP level targeting as a benchmark framework.
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Strengthening the Federal Reserve’s Accountability to the US Congress
Congress has a constitutional duty to oversee the Federal Reserve, but the complexity of its monetary policy has outpaced existing oversight tools. This brief looks at approaches for restoring the balance between the Fed’s independence and accountability.
Latest work in Monetary Policy
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Policy Spotlights Policy Spotlights
Closing the Fed’s Oversight Gap
For more than a century the Federal Reserve has had only minimal oversight. Here are options for strengthening the Fed's accountability.
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Policy Spotlights Policy Spotlights
A Rule-Based Monetary Policy
Latest work in Monetary Policy
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Ruth Judson on Chasing Dollars Around the World
From global cash hoards to counterfeiters to capital flow data, mapping the dollar’s worldwide journey
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Bill Nelson on the Future of the Fed’s Balance Sheet
Is the Fed profitable again?
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Neha Narula, Anders Brownworth, and Daniel Aronoff on Understanding Stablecoins in the GENIUS Era
Has the stablecoin horse left the barn in the US?
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Jesús Fernández-Villaverde on the Quandary of Global Demographic Decline
Can AI fix the problem of our shrinking population?
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Chris Meissner on the History of Globalization
Has the US taken a detour or made a permanent shift away from globalization?
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Raghuram Rajan on the Impact of the Ratcheting Effect of The Fed’s QE Program
What can the Fed learn from the monetary policy of emerging economies like India?
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Andrew Martinez on the Art of Forecasting
What does the NGDP Gap reveal about monetary policy?
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Dan Awrey on the Future of the U.S. Payments System in a Digital World
Was the GENIUS act actually genius when it comes to payments?
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Scott Sumner on Monetary Policy Confusion in Our Current Policy Debates
How nominal GDP can bring added clarity to macroeconomic policies?
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Tyler Muir on How to Understand the Fed’s Quantitative Easing
Does the Fed need to change course, or can it just ride out the wave?
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | TV Appearance TV Appearance
Former Richmond Fed President Lacker: The Fed Should Provide State Guidance that's Two-sided | CNBC
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Mercatus Podcasts Mercatus Podcasts
- | Macro Musings Macro Musings
Laurence Bristow on What the Fed can Learn from the Reserve Bank of Australia
What happened in the land down under when they rose from the floor to the roof?
Latest work in Monetary Policy
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Comments on Docket No. OP-1877, Request for Information and Comment on Reserve Bank Payment Account Prototype
How the Fed can implement the RBPA in an efficient manner that supports liquidity under stress
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Federal Testimonies Federal Testimonies
The Federal Reserve and the Rule of Law
Testimony Before the House Committee on Financial Services
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Federal Testimonies Federal Testimonies
Safeguarding the Federal Reserve's Independence
Testimony before the Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy of the House Committee on Financial Services
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Mutual Fund After-Tax Returns
Latest work in Monetary Policy
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Fed Already Has What It Needs to Navigate Supply Shocks | Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Three Kinds of Fed-Treasury Accords | Macroeconomic Policy Nexus (Substack)
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Three Kinds of Fed-Treasury Accords | Macroeconomic Policy Nexus (Substack)
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Breaking the QE Ratchet | Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Warsh Eyes Slashing the Fed’s Balance Sheet. How He Could Do It. | Barron’s
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Stablecoins Behave Like Money, But Are They Built Like It? | Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Feature Feature
Sound Money and Growth or Inflation and Social Unrest in the Historical Context | Echelon
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Three Views of QE: Irrelevance, Insurance, and Irreversibility | Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Who Sits at the Fed's Table? Part II | Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Who Sits at the Fed’s Table? Part I | Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Is 3% Inflation the New 2%? | Macroeconomic Policy Nexus (Substack)
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
How Inflation Slowly Rendered the Penny Meaningless | RealClearMarkets
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
From barbarians to the Menger trilemma | Macroeconomic Policy Nexus (Substack)
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
How 3% Inflation Became the New Normal | Barron’s
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Barbarians at the Fed's Gate | Macroeconomic Policy Nexus (Substack)
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary