Jón Steinsson believes that a painless disinflation is no longer plausible
The economics professor says that the Fed’s hard-won credibility is at stake
AFTER RISING steadily for over a year, inflation in America is now higher than it has been for four decades. On May 4th the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate by 0.5 percentage points. Jerome Powell, its chair, also indicated that further 0.5-percentage-point increases are likely in June and July. Together, these actions will constitute the fastest tightening of policy since the 1980s.
This article appeared in the By Invitation section of the print edition under the headline “Jón Steinsson believes that a painless disinflation is no longer plausible”
More from By Invitation
Peter Sands of the Global Fund on the pandemic’s positive legacies
New vaccines got most of the attention but there’s a lot more to celebrate
Trumpism is becoming more pragmatic, argues Reihan Salam
But not all of the incoming president’s backers buy it
Time is not on Russia’s side, argues Finland’s foreign minister
Elina Valtonen calls for a lower oil-price cap and tougher measures against Russia’s shadow fleet
Oriana Skylar Mastro makes a case for paring America’s nukes
The political scientist explains why beefing up is bad China strategy
A new Iranian approach to regional security and prosperity, by M. Javad Zarif
Iran’s vice-president on how his country can make the region more secure and prosperous
The EU must be bolder and faster in enlarging, writes Nicu Popescu
A former foreign minister of Moldova on the means and the dividends of speedier accession