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WHAT'S SO FUNNY ABOUT MAKING MONETARY POLICY?
Author(s) -
CAPEHART KEVIN W.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
economic inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1465-7295
pISSN - 0095-2583
DOI - 10.1111/ecin.12004
Subject(s) - laughter , monetary policy , economics , inflation (cosmology) , monetary economics , open market operation , keynesian economics , psychology , social psychology , physics , theoretical physics
During their meetings, the members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) make monetary policy, but they also make each other laugh. This article studies the amount of laughter elicited by members of the FOMC during their meetings. The study finds that a member elicits more laughter if he or she expects higher inflation, other things being equal. This finding suggests that members may use humor to cope with the threat of inflation. ( JEL E52, E58, C23)