Ben Bernanke
Ben Bernanke
Ben Shalom Bernankeis an American economist at the Brookings Institution who served two terms as chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, from 2006 to 2014. During his tenure as chairman, Bernanke oversaw the Federal Reserve's response to the late-2000s financial crisis. Before becoming Federal Reserve chairman, Bernanke was a tenured professor at Princeton University and chaired the department of economics there from 1996 to September 2002, when he went on public service leave...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth13 December 1953
CityAugusta, GA
CountryUnited States of America
Thus far, at least, the growth effects of energy price increases appear relatively modest.
Those high oil prices are a burden on U.S. families, on firms' production costs. But the good news is that at least so far the U.S. economy has not been slowed by the high energy prices.
Unfortunately there's nothing, really, that can be done that's going to affect energy prices or gasoline prices in the very short run.
The resilience of the economy ... is helping it to absorb the shocks to energy and transportation from the hurricanes.
As long as there's not permanent damage to our energy infrastructure, the effects on the overall economy should be fairly modest.
As long as we find that the energy impact is only temporary ... my guess is that the effects on the overall economy will be fairly modest.
A further jump in energy prices or a more pronounced reaction to those increases in prices that have already occurred could test the strength of the expansion,
Inflation is up, driven by energy prices. Underlying core rates remain low, which is encouraging.
High energy prices are burdening household budgets and raising production costs, and continued increases would at some point restrain economic growth.
These inflation effects should fade even if energy prices remain elevated, so long as monetary policy keeps inflation expectations well-anchored.
These policies include making tax relief permanent, reducing the budget deficit by limiting spending, strengthening retirement and health security through efforts like Social Security reform ... and enhancing energy security.
The high energy prices are certainly burdening consumer budgets, they are burdening cost structures of firms and certainly continued increases in energy prices are a risk for economic growth going forward.