- Economics
- Monetary Policy
- Answering Challenges to Advanced Economies
How to finish the job of reducing and stabilizing inflation in a world where the international order is shifting, with tariffs, supply chains, the status of the dollar, and the nature of international cooperation changing quickly? In this volume of proceedings from the 2025 Hoover Institution Monetary Policy Conference, a range of authors attempt to answer this question and more.
When the conference was held, in May 2025, inflation was still stubbornly above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Further, as Hoover Director Condoleezza Rice stated in her welcoming remarks, the United States is “experiencing an avalanche of uncertainty,” with everything about the international order in question, including the US role in it.
Organized into eight sections, this volume collects the essays and discussions from the conference, bringing together scholarly contributions from academics, policymakers, and other experts to consider big-picture issues that affect monetary policy both in the United States and abroad.
Issues examined in depth include the financial regulation of cryptocurrency, the growing role of private credit, Federal Reserve communications, and the history of the price stability objective. The conference also celebrated the life and career of John B. Taylor, noting value of the Taylor rule as a tool for stability and its influence on policymaking.
Contents
Preface
Michael D. Bordo and John H. Cochrane
Welcoming Remarks
Condoleezza Rice
John Taylor and Taylor Rules in Policy
Introduction
Volker Wieland
1. Celebrating John Taylor
John C. Williams
2. John Taylor: A Reflection
Agustín G. Carstens
3.Thank You, John
Christopher J. Waller
4. Disciplined Judgement in Monetary Policymaking
Loretta J. Mester
5. Discretion Continues to Thwart Fed Efforts to Make Credible Commitments
Charles I. Plosser
6. Lessons Learned and the Path Ahead
Kevin M. Warsh
General Discussion
Volker Wieland, Harald Uhlig, Robert J. Barro, Jason Furman, Robert G. King, Pablo Villanueva, Kevin M. Warsh, Christopher J. Waller, Loretta J. Mester, Charles I. Plosser
Digital Assets, Payment Systems, and Financial Regulation
Introduction
Arvind Krishnamurthy
7. Tokenizing Reserves and Treasuries
Darrell Duffie
8. Let Banks Compete: Digital Money’s Challenge to Europe’s Protected Banking Model
Luis Garicano
9. How Stablecoins Will Transform Banking
Charles W. Calomiris
Finishing the Job, Risks Ahead
Introduction
Mickey D. Levy
10. Targeting Nominal GDP: A Monetarist Cross-Check for “Finishing the Job”
Peter N. Ireland
11. Fighting Inflation after the Pandemic: Lessons for the Next Battle
Kristin J. Forbes
12. Three Suggestions for Improved Macroeconomic and Monetary Policy
James B. Bullard
General Discussion
Mickey D. Levy, Kristin J. Forbes, James B. Bullard, Jason Furman, Michael J. Boskin, Steven J. Davis, Evan Koenig, Sebastián Edwards, Peter N. Ireland
The Growing Role of Private Credit
Introduction
Michael D. Bordo
13. The Growing Role of Private Credit
Torsten Slok
Global and Strategic Issues: Implications for Monetary and Fiscal Policy
Introduction
Power and Prosperity—Brief Remarks on Economics and National Security
Ross Levine
14. Unalienable Rights and Unbridled Entrepreneurship: Maintaining the Free World’s Competitive Advantages
H.R. McMaster
15. Remarks on US Fiscal and Geoeconomic Risks
Matteo Maggiori
16. Tariffs, Trade Wars, and Economic Policy as if History Matters
Christopher M. Meissner
17. Geopolitical Uncertainty and Economic Policy
Harold James
General Discussion
Ross Levine, Sebastián Edwards, Steven J. Davis, Matteo Maggiori, Harold James, Christopher M. Meissner, Krishna Guha, Kana Norimoto, Michael J. Boskin, H.R. McMaster
Fiscal Sustainability Issues and Their Implications for Monetary Policy
Introduction
John F. Cogan
18. Fiscal Unsustainability and the Risk of Inflation
Alan J. Auerbach
19. Comments on Fiscal Policy and Its Interactions with Monetary Policy
Michael J. Boskin
20. Fiscal Sustainability and Price Discovery in Government Bond Markets
Hanno Lustig
21. Fiscal Constraints on Monetary Policy
John H. Cochrane
General Discussion
John F. Cogan, Laurence M. Ball, Sebastián Edwards, Mickey D. Levy, Patrick Kehoe, Isabel Schnabel, John H. Cochrane, Hanno Lustig, Michael J. Boskin, Alan J. Auerbach
Introduction
Peter Blair Henry
22. Keeping a Steady Hand in an Unsteady World
Isabel Schnabel
23. US Economy Scenarios and Monetary Policy Response
Alberto G. Musalem
24. The Outlook for the Economy and Monetary Policy
Beth M. Hammack
25. Opening Remarks on Productivity Dynamics
Lisa D. Cook
General Discussion
Peter Blair Henry, David Papell, Darrell J. Duffie, Jason Furman, John H. Cochrane, Lisa D. Cook, Isabel Schnabel, Beth M. Hammack, Alberto G. Musalem, Torsten Slok, James B. Bullard, Patrick Kehoe, Elena Pastorino X
The Long History of the Price Stability Objective
Introduction
Michael D. Bordo
26. The Long History of the Price Stability Objective
François R. Velde
General Discussion
Michael D. Bordo, James B. Bullard, Andrew T. Levin, Sebastián Edwards, Jon Hartley, Hoyt Bleakley, Robert J. Barro
About the Hoover Institution’s Economic Policy Working Group
