The current monetary policy debate in the U.S. is at a crossroads. Since 2007-2009, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has pursued a very aggressive monetary policy strategy. This strategy has been associated with a significantly improved labor market, moderate growth, and inflation relatively close to target, net of a large oil price shock. A key question now is how to think about monetary policy going forward. The FOMC has long suggested that the appropriate exit strategy from the highly accommodative monetary policy following the 2007-2009 recession would be slow and gradual, and would proceed in several ... (full story)