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At this writing, by most economic measures, the U.S. economy is running at full employment with inflation in check. Yet the GDP is not growing as fast as many would like and the yield curve has inverted multiple times lately. The Federal Reserve conducts monetary policy to try to keep inflation in check while helping the GDP to grow. We will look at current and historical monetary policy trends in an effort to figure out where the U.S. economy is headed. We will examine how monetary policy influences interest rates, exchange rates, measures economic well-being and investigates the independence of the Fed.
INSTRUCTOR: William O’Brien holds a PhD in Economics from Northeastern University and is an Economics Professor at Worcester State University. His research interests are public choice, effects of taxes on economic behavior, the determinants of MCAS scores and globalization.
NO REQUIRED BOOKS
READING FOR FIRST CLASS: Please skim www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/feds/2015/files/2015047pap.pdf
Worcester Institute for Senior Education (WISE)Assumption University, 500 Salisbury Street, Worcester MA 01609 wise@assumption.edu 508-767-7513
