Background: The main unifying theme of the conference is that successful policy requires that central bankers’ decisions be based on clearly-understood rules—including legal limits, institutional structures, mandates, traditions, procedures, or formulas—and not solely on discretion. The main aim of the conference is a set of policy-focused recommendations for the rules, limits, guidance, structure and communications of central-bank policy-making based on data, theory and history of the past 100 years.

You can download a PDF of the agenda here and of the speaker bios here.

The conference was well covered by several news sources. A selection of the coverage is available below, or see the conversation on Twitter:

• Stanford News
• Wall Street Journal (subscription may be required)
  • John Taylor: Interest Rates Should Already Be Higher
  • Fed Officials Downplay Financial Stability Concerns
  • Fed’s Plosser: Fed Should Adopt More Formal Policy Rule
  • Fed’s Policy Hawks Express Mix of Views on Timing of Rate Hikes
  • Grand Central: KC Fed’s George Sets Battle Lines on Rate Hikes
  • Esther George Says Fed Should Begin Rate Hikes ‘Shortly’ After Bond Buys End
  • Fed Ignores Policy Rules at Own Peril, Paper Finds
• New York Times
• Financial Times
• Washington Post:
  • 50 Shades of Fed
  • The paradox of this recovery, in two charts
• Bloomberg News:
  • John Taylor on Bloomberg Radio
  • Niall Ferguson on Bloomberg Radio
  • Charles Plosser on Bloomberg Radio
  • Michael Bordo and Hoover research fellow Tim Kane on Bloomberg Radio
  • Cameron Teitelman, founder of non-profit StartX), on Bloomberg Radio
  • Michael Cuggino, president of the Permanent Portfolio family of funds, on Bloomberg Radio
  • David Pappel on Bloomberg Radio
• Reuters:
  • Fed officials say rates should not be used to fight bubbles
  • DIARY – Top Economic Events to June 12
  • Fed’s George wants rate hikes soon, and not too gradual
  • Lacker warns on Fed’s role in credit markets
  • Fed’s Plosser floats new approach to forward guidance on rates
  • U.S. Fed’s George says open to big balance sheet
  • U.S. Fed can’t fight inflation on its own, economist says
  • What to Watch in The Day Ahead; Friday, May 30
  • Fed’s Lacker says Q2 rate lift off next year “plausible”-CNBC
• Market News International:
  • Fed Presidents Differ on Reinvestment; Agree on Other Issues
  • Top Economic Policy Stories Worldwide Friday May 30
  • Philadelphia Fed’s Plosser: Worried About Inflation in 2-3 Yrs
  • Fed Officials to Discuss IOER, Communication, Monetary Rules
• Economic Principles