Current:Home > InvestHow 2% became the target for inflation -CapitalWay
How 2% became the target for inflation
View
Date:2025-04-26 13:00:36
If the Fed had a mantra to go along with its mandate, it might well be "two percent." That number, the Fed's longtime inflation target, has been adopted by many other central banks around the world. Jerome Powell said it 17 times in a press conference last week. It's become almost synonymous with smooth, healthy economic growth.
But how did two percent become the Fed's target? For an organization staffed with mathematicians and economists, the answer is surprisingly unsophisticated. Join us to hear about the history behind the number, and why some economists are calling for a change.
Music by Drop Electric. Find us: Twitter / Facebook / Newsletter.
Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PocketCasts and NPR One.
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
veryGood! (15328)
Related
- Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
- Lawyer for man charged with killing 4 University of Idaho students wants trial moved to Boise
- Starbucks offering half-price drinks for a limited time Tuesday: How to redeem offer
- New Zealand reports Canada after drone flown over Olympic soccer practice
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- 2024 Paris Olympics: Surfers Skip Cardboard Beds for Floating Village in Tahiti
- 2024 Paris Olympic village: Cardboard beds, free food and more as Olympians share videos
- Monday is the hottest day recorded on Earth, beating Sunday’s record, European climate agency says
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Minnesota school settles with professor who was fired for showing image of the Prophet Muhammad
Ranking
- Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
- See “F--king Basket Case” Kim Zolciak Break Down Over Kroy Biermann Divorce in Surreal Life Tease
- Fire Once Helped Sequoias Reproduce. Now, it’s Killing the Groves.
- University system leader will be interim president at University of West Georgia
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- Schumer and Jeffries endorse Kamala Harris for president
- Some Republicans are threatening legal challenges to keep Biden on the ballot. But will they work?
- Google’s corporate parent still prospering amid shift injecting more AI technology in search
Recommendation
Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
IOC President Bach says Israeli-Palestinian athletes 'living in peaceful coexistence'
Fans drop everything, meet Taylor Swift in pouring rain at Hamburg Eras Tour show
2024 Paris Olympic village: Cardboard beds, free food and more as Olympians share videos
Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
Netflix announces Benedict as the lead for Season 4 of 'Bridgerton': 'Please scream'
Teen killed by lightning on Germany's highest peak; family of 8 injured in separate strike
See “F--king Basket Case” Kim Zolciak Break Down Over Kroy Biermann Divorce in Surreal Life Tease