6 In particular, I will point to reasons why the FOMC’s discussions might lead to decisions that depart--temporarily or permanently--from the prescriptions of baseline monetary policy rules. Rules as a Benchmark for Policy Discussions Some perspective on the status of policy rules in FOMC discussions is provided by considering what has changed over the past 20 years.
Donald Kohn, at a landmark conference organized by John Taylor in January 1998, described the role played by monetary policy rules in the FOMC briefing process. 7 His account noted that Federal Reserve staff members presented FOMC participants with prescriptions from several policy rules, including the Taylor (1993) rule. This description remains true today.