A Perspective on Monetary Policy

This Commentary contains an insider’s view of the decision making process followed by the monetary policymakers of the FOMC. In particular, Sandra Pianalto, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and a member of the FOMC, describes her take on the objectives, principles, and economic events that have played a role in the Committee’s decisions since last June, when it made the first of a series of interest rate increases. These remarks were originally made to the Association for Corporate Growth in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 18, 2005.