MNI: Jackson Hole Tackles 'Uneven Economy,' Low Rates, Fiscal

Jackson Hole will be dominated by five sessions on an "uneven" economic recovery and how monetary and fiscal policy can tackle the Covid rebound, following a keynote on the outlook from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The Kansas City Fed's symposium is being held virtually for a second year in a row due to pandemic restrictions and Powell's speech at 10am ET is expected to provide clarity around the Fed's reaction function to high inflation and a sluggish labor recovery without pre-committing to a QE taper timeline.

The speakers draw primarily from academia and alumni of the U.S. central bank such as former vice chair Don Kohn, and will also include remarks by IMF research director Gita Gopinath.

The first of three morning sessions features a paper on "monetary policy and uneven shocks" by University of Chicago professor Veronica Guerrieri. The two other morning sessions examine the fiscal response, featuring a paper on "fiscal policy and uneven shocks" from UC Berkeley professor Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas and a panel discussion with former Fed vice chair and Princeton University professor Alan Blinder and the IMF's Gopinath.

The afternoon sessions look at research on Covid and an "uneven labor market" by University of Texas at Austin professor Aysegul Sahin and a paper on low interest rates from University of Chicago professor Amir Sufi. A second panel discussion on "monetary policy in an uneven economy" includes Princeton University professor Markus Brunnermeier, MIT professor Kristin Forbes and former IMF chief economist Maurice Obstfeld.

Powell's remarks will be livestreamed while all other sessions are limited to invitees.

JACKSON HOLE PROGRAM

10:00 AM (ET) WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION

ESTHER L. GEORGE, President and Chief Executive Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

OPENING REMARKS
JEROME H. POWELL, Chair, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

CHAIR: JANICE EBERLY, Professor, Northwestern University

10:30 AM MONETARY POLICY AND UNEVEN SHOCKS
AUTHOR: VERONICA GUERRIERI, Professor, University of Chicago
DISCUSSANT: JING CYNTHIA WU, Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame

10:55 AM GENERAL DISCUSSION

11:15 AM FISCAL POLICY AND UNEVEN SHOCKS
AUTHOR: PIERRE-OLIVIER GOURINCHAS, Professor, University of California – Berkeley
DISCUSSANT: VALERIE A. RAMEY, Professor, University of California – San Diego

11:40 AM GENERAL DISCUSSION

12:00 PM THE INTERACTION OF FISCAL AND MONETARY POLICY
PANELIST: ALAN BLINDER, Professor, Princeton University
PANELIST: GITA GOPINATH, Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department, International Monetary Fund
PANELIST: ERIC LEEPER, Professor, University of Virginia

12:45 PM GENERAL DISCUSSION

1:00 PM ADJOURNMENT

AFTERNOON SESSION
CHAIR: LISA D. COOK, Professor, Michigan State University

2:00 PM REMARKS
DONALD KOHN, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

2:30 PM THE COVID SHOCK AND AN UNEVEN LABOR MARKET
AUTHOR: AYŞEGÜL ŞAHIN, Professor, University of Texas – Austin
DISCUSSANT: BETSEY STEVENSON, Professor, University of Michigan

2:55 PM GENERAL DISCUSSION

3:15 PM LOW INTEREST RATES AND AN UNEVEN ECONOMY
AUTHOR: AMIR SUFI, Professor, University of Chicago
DISCUSSANT: FATIH GUVENEN, Professor, University of Minnesota

3:40 PM GENERAL DISCUSSION

4:00 PM MONETARY POLICY IN AN UNEVEN ECONOMY
PANELIST: MARKUS K. BRUNNERMEIER, Professor, Princeton University
PANELIST: KRISTIN J. FORBES, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
PANELIST: MAURICE OBSTFELD, Professor, University of California – Berkeley

4:45 PM GENERAL DISCUSSION

5:00 PM ADJOURNMENT