Search Results
Report
Parsing Out the Sources of Inflation
The authors have developed a statistical model that breaks down total Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation into underlying supply and demand factors, enabling quantification of those sources of price pressures as they arise.
Speech
Parsing the Pandemic’s Effects on Labor Markets
Opening Remarks at the Bank’s 66th Economic Conference, “Labor Markets During and After the Pandemic”. Potentially long-lasting effects of the pandemic on the labor market, such as increased remote work and accelerated automation of service-sector jobs, are likely to have differential effects across the workforce. Understanding these differences is important for achieving the Fed’s mission of a vibrant, inclusive economy in the wake of COVID-19.
Speech
Remarks for the Panel Discussion “Why Did We Miscast Inflation?”
Inflation remains too high, and recent data – including several strong labor market indicators, as well as faster than expected retail sales and producer price inflation – all reinforce my view that we have more work to do, to bring inflation down to the 2 percent target. While optimistic there is a path to restoring price stability without a significant downturn, I am also well aware of the many risks and uncertainties, including the risk of a self-fulfilling loss of business and consumer confidence.
Speech
Perspectives on the Economy and Policymaking
Susan Collins reviews a wide range of information to assess the evolving economy. She looks for patterns and trends showing sustained reductions in inflation, and progress on the underlying goal of bringing demand and supply back into better balance. She notes that price stability is essential for a well-functioning economy and an important precondition for maximum employment that is sustainable over time.
Speech
Perspectives on the Economy: Remarks at the Annual Convention of the Maine Bankers Association
Susan Collins shared her views about the economic outlook and monetary policy. Then she provided a few perspectives on banking in New England and in particular Maine – highlighting the importance of banks of all sizes to a vibrant, inclusive economy. She ended with a few points about the Fed’s work across the region, and the shared opportunities to collaborate in the public interest.
Speech
Reflections on Phasing Policy Amidst (Pandemic) Uncertainty: the 2023 Goldman Lecture in Economics at Wellesley College
In her remarks, President Collins focuses on economic policymaking under uncertainty. She discusses the making of monetary policy in the current cycle, where the recent pandemic and its aftermath figure so prominently and create particular uncertainty. President Collins also offers some takeaways to students about learning and careers.
Speech
Remarks at the 22nd Annual Regional and Community Banker’s Conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President & CEO Susan M. Collins participated in the Bank’s 22nd Annual Regional & Community Bankers Conference. In her remarks, President Collins says inflation is still taking a toll across New England, but the Fed sees evidence that inflation is moderating. The impacts of the pandemic remain unusual, and that means a high degree of uncertainty will be an inescapable part of the near-term policymaking environment, necessitating patience. She also says the region’s banking industry plays an essential role, serving communities and providing households and ...
Speech
Supply Factors and the Evolution of the Economy
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President & CEO Susan M. Collins delivered the 2025 Razin Economic Policy Lecture on “Supply Factors and the Evolution of the Economy” at Georgetown University. President Collins says her outlook for both economic activity and inflation remains clouded by significant uncertainty, as well as competing risks. She notes supply-side factors have been underappreciated in “understanding how the economy has evolved,” which is “critical for assessing its likely trajectory.” Looking ahead, President Collins expects supply factors will continue to play a key ...
Working Paper
Inflation Factors
This paper develops an econometric framework for identifying latent factors that provide real time estimates of supply and demand conditions shaping goods- and services-related price pressures in the U.S. economy. The factors are estimated using category-specific personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data on prices and quantities, using a sign-restricted dynamic factor model that imposes theoretical predictions of the effects of fluctuations in supply and demand on prices and associated quantities through factor loadings. The resulting estimates are used to decompose total PCE inflation ...
Working Paper
Heterogeneity in the Pass-Through from Oil to Gasoline Prices: A New Instrument for Estimating the Price Elasticity of Gasoline Demand
We propose a new instrument for estimating the price elasticity of gasoline demand that exploits systematic differences across U.S. states in the pass-through of oil price shocks to retail gasoline prices. We show that these differences are primarily driven by the cost of producing and distributing gasoline, which varies with states’ access to oil and gasoline transportation infrastructure, refinery technology and environmental regulations, creating cross-sectional gasoline price shocks in response to an aggregate oil price shock. Time-varying estimates do not support the view that the ...