Output growth is largely dependent on the pace of growth in productivity, which has “repeatedly disappointed expectations” during this recovery, he explained. As for downward revisions for the unemployment rate, he noted that it largely reflects the fact that inflation has come in lower than forecast over the same period.With regards to the Fed funds rate, he said lower estimates stem from multiple sources:“Slower potential output growth implies lower returns to capital investment, and thus a lower [funds rate]; and indeed the pace of business investment has been disappointing, especially recently,” he explained. “A lower value of [the funds rate] could also help explain the relatively sluggish pace of actual output growth, since it would imply that current policy is not as stimulative as previously thought.”Bernanke also noted that FOMC participants focus a lot of attention on other market signals when forecasting the Fed funds rate: low longer-term market interest rates, low inflation, and low risk premiums on safer debt, for instance.However, Bernanke pointed out that despite lower Fed funds rate projections from Fed officials, market commentary has been focused on shorter term factors like the Brexit vote.“While such factors do affect the meeting-to-meeting timing of monetary policy decisions, they can’t account for extended deviations of policy from its expected path,” he noted. “The more fundamental reason for the shift in policy trajectory is the ongoing change in how most FOMC participants view the key parameters of the economy.”These downward revisions on key economic indicators show that FOMC participants expect this process to play our over a longer timeframe than though.
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