The Federal Reserve appointed the new leaders of its task forces and established objectives for those groups to advance the conduct of monetary policy.
The five Federal Reserve task forces will examine areas central to the broad conduct of monetary policy. They will be co-led by external advisers, which include accomplished economists, business leaders, and former central bank practitioners with deep expertise in their fields.
They will operate independently of the Federal Reserve, with support from the staff. They operate under a mandate to follow the evidence, provide candid feedback, and produce rigorous findings for the Federal Open Market Committee.
“The Federal Reserve’s commitment to price stability and maximum employment is unwavering. As is our resolve to pursue our mandate with rigor,” Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said. “The U.S. economy has changed significantly over the last generation, and never more so than right now. Each task force will carefully consider whether policymakers’ means and methods, analytical tools and policy approaches can be improved upon. I am honored that the best minds from a range of disciplines have agreed to work with us to sharpen our performance as an institution. The goal is straightforward: to ensure the Fed is best positioned to achieve our objectives in this consequential time.”
The leaders of the five task forces include:
Communications, which reviews how the Federal Reserve conveys policy deliberations and decisions amid uncertainty. The leaders of the committee are Peter Fisher, professor of practice, Foster School of Business, University of Washington; Arminio Fraga, founder and chairman, Gávea Investimentos and former president, Central Bank of Brazil; and Mervyn King, former governor, Bank of England.
Balance Sheet Policy, which examines the costs, benefits, and institutional implications of the Federal Reserve’s current balance sheet regime. This committee will be led by Karen Dynan, professor of economics, Harvard University; Raghuram Rajan, professor of finance, University of Chicago Booth School of Business and former governor, Reserve Bank of India; and Jeremy Stein, professor of economics, Harvard University and former governor, Federal Reserve Board.
Data, which improves the quality and timeliness of real economic signals that inform the Federal Reserve’s policy judgments. It will be led by Raj Chetty, professor of economics, Harvard University; Doug McMillon, former president and CEO, Walmart; and Kevin Murphy, professor of economics, University of Chicago.
Productivity and Jobs, which assess the economic impact of new general-purpose technologies, including artificial intelligence, to inform the Federal Reserve’s policy judgments. The task force will be headed up by Marc Andreessen, cofounder and general partner, Andreessen Horowitz; Charles Jones, professor of economics, Stanford University, and currently on leave at Anthropic; and Asha Sharma, executive vice president and XBOX CEO, Microsoft Corp.
Inflation Frameworks, which revisit how the Federal Reserve understands and responds to the drivers of inflation. This group will be led by Greg Mankiw, professor of economics, Harvard University, and former chairman, Council of Economic Advisers; Thomas Sargent, professor of economics, New York University and Nobel laureate; and William White, senior fellow, C.D. Howe Institute; former economic adviser, Bank for International Settlements.