The Economy: Inflation, the Fed, and You
A Three-Part Webcast Series
Inflation in America is happening for the first time in forty years. Why have prices gone up and when might they come down? What role do monetary policy, the Federal Reserve, and legislators play? And how is inflation playing out regionally and affecting you?
Prefer to listen on the go? Subscribe to our Podcast and never miss a conversation. Listen here.
Episode One: Why Inflation Happens
John Cochrane, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
The Economist magazine wrote that John Cochrane's new book, The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level, "builds a theory of inflation as ambitious as that proposed by John Maynard Keynes’s The General Theory or Milton Friedman’s and Anna Schwartz’s A Monetary History."
Cochrane--the Rose-Marie and Jack Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research--joins the O'Connor Institute to discuss the fiscal theory of inflation, why inflation is occurring now for the first time in forty years, and what might happen with inflation in the future. Watch now!
Episode Two: Understanding the Federal Reserve
Louise Sheiner, Brookings Institution
The Federal Reserve has committed to fighting inflation. What tools can and does it use to keep prices stable? What are its other economic duties? Who at the Federal Reserve makes decisions, and how do they make them?
Brookings Institution economist Louise Sheiner joins Liam Julian, director of Public Policy at the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute, for a discussion. Sheiner is the Robert S. Kerr Senior Fellow in Economic Studies and policy director for the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. She previously served as a senior economist in the Fiscal Analysis Section for the Research and Statistics Division with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Episode Three: Inflation at Home: The Regional Perspective
George W. Hammond, University of Arizona
In August 2022, national inflation was at 9 percent, but inflation in Phoenix was at 13 percent. Different parts of the country experience inflation differently. How do the ways in which we measure price increases, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI), contribute to regional variances in inflation? What role do rising housing costs play? And do certain types of inflation cause more pain than others?
University of Arizona economist George W. Hammond joins Liam Julian, director of Public Policy at the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute, for a discussion. Hammond directs the Economic and Business Research Center in the Eller College of Management. A specialist in econometric forecasting for more than two decades, he has designed, built, and used economic models to produce more than 100 forecasts for state and local economies and completed more than 50 regional economic studies on topics including economic and workforce development, energy forecasting, and the impact of higher education on human capital accumulation.
Liam Julian | Moderator
Liam Julian is director of public policy for the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy. He was previously managing editor of Policy Review magazine in Washington, D.C. His writing and commentary on public policy topics has appeared in a variety of publications such as The Washington Post, The Atlantic, City Journal, and National Review and on programs such as NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Mr. Julian also spent time working with the College Board, where he oversaw development of Advanced Placement curricula, including the redesign of the AP U.S. Government and Politics course. From 2006 to 2013, he was a Hoover Institution research fellow at Stanford University.
The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy. Our nonpartisan nonprofit offers a platform of civil discourse to allow contrasting views to be discussed and explored.
