(PDF)“ paper presented at “The Greenspan Era: Lessons for the Future,” a symposium sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, held in Jackson Hole, Wyo., August 25–27).
I believe that the clarity of this commitment to accommodation will itself support spending and employment and help to strengthen the recovery. Asset purchases have complemented our forward guidance, and the many dimensions of different purchase programs arguably constitute “many instruments.” In designing a purchase program, one must consider which assets to buy: Just Treasury securities or agency mortgage-backed securities as well? Which maturities?