Robert F. White Class of 1952 Professor of Economics
Education
Ph.D. Harvard University, Economics (1989)
Areas of Expertise
- Macroeconomics
- Monetary economics
- Central banking
- Financial markets
- Japanese economy
Courses
ECON 360 LEC
Monetary Economics (not offered 2024/25)Current Committees
- Special Collections Committee formerly known as the Chapin Library Committee
- Winter Study Committee, Chair
Areas of expertise
Macroeconomics, monetary economics, central banking, financial markets and the Japanese economy.
More Research Information
This page has more information related to my research, including data files and programs for some papers, and links to resources for macro and monetary research. You can also find links to working papers and other unpublished work.
Teaching Resources
Click here for some of the teaching resources I have developed for my classes.
Selected Publications
“Outside the Box: Unconventional Monetary Policy in the Great Recession and Beyond.” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall 2018.
“Can non-interest rate policies stabilize housing markets? Evidence from a panel of 57 economies” (with Ilhyock Shim), Journal of Financial Stability, Volume 26, pp. 31-44, 2016.
“Monetary Policy during Japan’s Great Recession: From Self-Induced Paralysis to Rooseveltian Resolve,” PIIE Briefing 14-4, 2014.
“Low Interest Rates and Housing Bubbles: Still No Smoking Gun,” in Evanoff et al. (eds.), The Role of Central Banks in Financial Stability: Has It Changed? World Scientific, 2014.
“Taming the Real Estate Beast: The Effects of Monetary and Macroprudential Policies on House Prices and Credit” (with Ilhyock Shim), in Property Markets and Financial Stability, Reserve Bank of Australia, 2012.
“How Flexible Can Inflation Targeting Be and Still Work?” (with Adam S. Posen), International Journal of Central Banking, January 2012.
“Monetary Policy and Asset Price Volatility: Should We Refill the Bernanke-Gertler Prescription?” In New Perspectives on Asset Price Bubbles: Theory, Evidence, and Policy, Evanoff, Kaufman and Malliaris (eds.), Oxford University Press, 2011.
“Implementation of Monetary Policy: How Do Central Banks Set Interest Rates?” (with Benjamin M. Friedman). In Friedman & Woodford (eds.), Handbook of Monetary Economics vol. 3B, 2010.
“Understanding the Flattening Phillips Curve,” with Tim Robinson. North American Journal of Economics and Finance, August 2010.
“Reinventing the Lender of Last Resort,” The Japanese Economy,” Summer 2010.
“Do Markets Care Who Chairs the Central Bank?” (with Adam S. Posen), Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, March/April 2010.
“Victorian Financial Crises and their Implications for the Future,” Business Economics, April 2010.
“The Fed’s response to the financial crisis: Pages from the BOJ playbook, or a whole new ball game?” Financial Review (published by Japan’s Ministry of Finance) volume 95. (Click here for English version.) Also available as Center on Japanese Economy and Business Working Paper #282.
“Can Central Banks Target Bond Prices?” In Chung, ed., “Monetary Policy in an Environment of Low Inflation,” Seoul: The Bank of Korea, 2006. (Also available as NBER Working Paper #12454.)
“What Explains the Stock Market’s Reaction to Federal Reserve Policy?” (with Ben S. Bernanke), Journal of Finance, Volume 60 No. 3, June 2005, pp. 1221-1258.
“Lost Decade in Translation: Did the US Learn from Japan’s Post-Bubble Mistakes?” (with James Harrigan), in Ito, Patrick and Weinstein (eds.), Reviving Japan’s Economy: Problems and Prescriptions, MIT Press, 2005, pp. 79-106.
“A Snapshot of Inflation Targeting in its Adolescence,” in Kent and Guttman (eds.), The Future of Inflation Targeting, Sydney: Reserve Bank of Australia, 2004, pp. 6-42.
“Fiscal Policy Effectiveness in Japan” (with Adam S. Posen), Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Volume 16 No. 4, December 2002, pp. 536-558.
“Are There Bank Effects in Borrowers’ Costs of Funds? Evidence from a Matched Sample of Borrowers and Banks” (with R. Glenn Hubbard and Darius Palia), Journal of Business, Volume 74 No. 4, October 2002, pp. 559-582.
“The Great Recession: Lessons for Macroeconomic Policy from Japan” (with Adam S. Posen), Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Volume 2001 No. 2, 2001, pp. 93-160.
“The Monetary Transmission Mechanism: Some Answers and Further Questions” (with Patricia C. Mosser), Federal Reserve Bank of New York Economic Policy Review, Volume 8 No. 1, May 2002, pp. 15-26.
Working Papers
“Labor Market Conditions and Charges of Discrimination: Is There a Link?” (with Karl Boulware).
“Macroeconomic Research, Present and Past” (with PJ Glandon, Sandeep Mazumder and Caleb Stroup).
“Unpacking Changes in the Federal Funds Rate.” Highly preliminary, request via e-mail.
In Previous Lives…
- Danforth-Lewis Professor of Economics, Oberlin College, 2004-2008.
- Assistant Vice President, Research Department, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 1997-2003.
- Visiting Assistant Professor, Columbia Business School, 1995-1997.
- Assistant Vice President, Research Department, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 1989-1997.
- Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin at Madison, 1992.