Regional influences on U.S. monetary policy
Subtitle: some implications for Europe
By: Ellen E. Meade, D. Nathan Sheets.
Contributors: Sheets, D. Nathan.
Series: International finance discussion papers ;; no. 721; International finance discussion papers (Online) ;; no. 721.
Publisher: Federal Reserve Board
Published: 2002
Place of publication: Washington, D.C
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Description: "This paper looks at the monetary policy decisions of the U.S. Federal Reserve and asks whether those decisions have been influenced solely by national concerns, or whether regional factors have played a role.  All of the Federal Reserve's policymakers have some regional identity, i.e., either their positions explicitly carry some regional affiliation or their region of origin is a factor that must be considered in the selection process.  This research is relevant for the Fed, and it may also be relevant for Europe's fledgling central bank in Frankfurt.  Critics have asserted that ECB policymakers have an incentive to base policy on national developments and respond to national political pressures.  We find that Fed policymakers do take into account developments in regional unemployment when deciding monetary policy, and that these regional developments are more important for central bankers at the hub than in the spokes.  These findings are robust to a variety of different specifications of the voting equation"--Federal Reserve Board web site.
Notes: Also available in print.
Includes bibliographical references.
Title from PDF file as viewed on 10/15/2004.
System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.