Federal Reserve Chairman Names Experts for Five Policy Review Task Forces

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh on Thursday released the names of experts who will serve on five task forces reviewing the central bank's operations and policy framework. The groups will examine communications, data, balance sheet policy, productivity and jobs, and inflation frameworks. Warsh first disclosed plans for the task forces last month.

The communications task force includes Peter R. Fisher, professor of practice at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business; Arminio Fraga, founder and chairman of Gávea Investimentos and former president of the Central Bank of Brazil; and a former Bank of England governor.

The balance sheet policy group includes Harvard economist Karen Dynan, a former Reserve Bank of India governor, and former Fed Governor Jeremy Stein. The data task force includes a former Walmart CEO, Harvard economist Raj Chetty, and University of Chicago economist Kevin Murphy.

The productivity and jobs task force includes venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, Stanford economist Charles I. Jones, and Asha Sharma, executive vice president and Xbox CEO at Microsoft.

Warsh said the task forces will operate independently and report findings to the Federal Open Market Committee. A Fed news release did not specify when the work will conclude, though Warsh has said he expects changes this year. "I am honored that the best minds from a range of disciplines have agreed to work with us to sharpen our performance as an institution," Warsh said.

" The panels will follow the evidence, provide candid feedback, and produce rigorous findings, the statement said. Members represent a range of ideologies and backgrounds. Warsh, who has been chairman for less than two months, said the groups will start with first principles, ask hard questions, examine current practice, consider alternatives, and propose next steps.

The chairman also noted that the Fed has resolve to pursue its mandate with rigor. The task forces are expected to take a sharp look at Fed orthodoxy. Warsh has already influenced communications by directing officials to provide less forward guidance and focus more on the central bank's reaction function.