Not all of these questions can be answered with hard, causal evidence. But learning how the economy is functioning, and understanding the mechanisms and incentives through which policy instruments affect the way people and firms behave is crucial. The best strategy to counter distrust in public authorities and the spread of “fake news” is a structured policy process.
True, over time, those signals became increasingly clear, so that in the end, market participants never missed a policy decision or read into our open market operations a policy action when there was none. As markets, experience, and the magnitude of outstanding financial instruments changed, the deadweight loss created by such uncertainty--read: "risk"--became increasingly evident, as did the value of transparency.