Finance and Economics Discussion Series

Monetary Policy Actions and Long-Run Inflation Expectations

Michael T. Kiley
2008-03

Abstract: The degree to which inflation expectations are anchored at long horizons is important for many issues in macroeconomics and finance. There has been little research examining observable measures of long-run inflation expectations. We investigate the evolution of survey measures of long-run inflation expectations in the United States. Our analysis emphasizes the role of a time-varying inflation objective of monetary policymakers. This focus makes monetary policy actions a key determinant of long-run inflation expectations. Our results have important implications for work on inflation dynamics, monetary policy rules, the costs of disinflation, and the term structure of interest rates.

Keywords: Inflation objective, learning