Raphael Bostic
President and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Raphael W. Bostic is president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He is a participant on the Federal Open Market Committee, the monetary policymaking body of the Federal Reserve System.
Message from the President
Striking a Delicate Balance in Making Policy
By Raphael Bostic, President and Chief Executive Officer
March 1, 2023
Even as some recent reports show underlying inflation moderating, I believe inflation remains too high. I want to reiterate that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is determined to put it on a sustainable path toward our objective of 2 percent, as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index.
Amid some signs that price pressures could be receding, a narrative has gained momentum among some commentators that the Fed should consider reversing its course of raising the federal funds rate lest we go too far and cause undue economic hardship.
While that perspective is understandable, history teaches that if we ease up on inflation before it is thoroughly subdued, it can flare anew. That happened with disastrous results in the 1970s. After the FOMC loosened policy prematurely, it took about 15 years to bring inflation under control, and then only after the federal funds rate hit 20 percent.
We don't want a repeat, so we must defeat inflation now.
Doing so without inflicting severe economic pain is a delicate balance. But striking that balance is our job, as the Fed's dual mandate is to pursue price stability and sustainable full employment. In the long run, the latter is not achievable without the former.
So, now we must determine when inflation is irrevocably moving lower. We're not there yet, and that is why I think we will need to raise the federal funds rate to between 5 and 5.25 percent and leave it there until well into 2024. This will allow tighter policy to filter through the economy and ultimately bring aggregate supply and aggregate demand into better balance and thus lower inflation.
Here's what I will need to see to consider reversing the course of monetary policy:
- A narrowing of the gap between labor supply and demand
- Higher interest rates more decisively affecting aggregate demand
- Ongoing recovery in aggregate supply
- Reduction in the breadth of inflation
- Stable inflation expectations
Let me offer a few additional thoughts on each of these.
Labor supply and demand are still unaligned
The difference between labor demand—the number of employed workers plus the number of job openings—and labor supply—the sum of employed and unemployed people—has remained above 4 million for a year. That is a dramatic shift from the conditions that prevailed before the pandemic. For roughly a year-and-a-half before February 2020, labor demand exceeded labor supply, but only by about one million. For the previous 40 years, labor supply was consistently higher than labor demand.
Over the past several months, the gap between labor supply and demand has narrowed slightly as employment growth has slowed. Business leaders tell us that, yes, it's a bit easier to fill vacant positions than it was last summer, but the tight labor market remains a top concern.
Why? Because the labor supply shortfall has been a contributing factor to nominal annual wages increasing by around 5 percent for months. We can't achieve price stability—inflation at 2 percent—with this rate of wage growth
Interest rates are not sufficiently influencing business activity
In addition to seeing progress in rebalancing the labor market, I'd need to see tighter money more significantly slow aggregate demand before I'd consider shifting policy. When businesses think customers will buy less of their product or service in the near and medium term, then they will adjust hiring and investment plans accordingly.
The increase in interest rates has slowed several sectors of the economy, most notably housing and commercial real estate. However, other parts of the economy have not slowed so much.
Consumer spending has remained robust over the past year. Economic growth as measured by gross domestic product was stronger than expected in the second half of 2022. And looking ahead, business contacts tell us activity may well soften, but they don't anticipate a severe deterioration. So, there is more work—in the form of interest rate increases—to do.
You might infer from this that we at the Federal Reserve view a major economic disruption as a precondition to ending our policy tightening. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I continue to believe that the economy packs sufficient momentum to weather higher interest rates, which will ultimately bring inflation down to our objective, without a major downturn. There may be some job losses, but my baseline forecast is for these to be mild relative to what was experienced during previous economic slowdowns.
Aggregate supply concerns are easing
Inflation is high because aggregate demand is greater than aggregate supply, in part due to severe supply chain disruptions. On this front, my staff and I are detecting strong signs of a meaningful recovery. Our Business Inflation Expectations Survey goes out to about 300 executives from various industries, and they tell us supply concerns have receded sharply. What's more, contacts at seaports report the long queues of ships we heard so much about in 2021 and 2022 have mostly cleared up. Private-sector reports show that supply chain congestion continued to ease in early 2023. So, I'm encouraged that this constraint is becoming a much less important driver of high inflation.
The breadth of inflation is still high
Additionally, my staff and I are closely watching the breadth of inflation pressures. At the beginning of the pandemic, high inflation was limited to a small number of goods, such as used cars and lumber. However, price pressures broadened as the pandemic went on. Consider the set of goods used to calculate the consumer price index, which is known as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) market basket. Last summer, upwards of 75 percent of the goods in the CPI market basket showed inflation rates of 6 percent or more. Simple math tells you that it will be very difficult to get an overall inflation average of 2 percent if inflation for so much of the basket is so high.
In recent months, we have seen the broad base of inflation narrow. But about half of the goods in the CPI market basket still show inflation rates of 6 percent or higher. While this is a welcome decline from the historically high proportions of last year, this level is still quite elevated. In the months leading up to the pandemic, for example, we were typically seeing less than 10 percent of goods in the CPI market basket with inflation at levels of 6 percent or higher. If we are going to get inflation back in the range of our target, the breadth of inflation will have to narrow considerably. We will be looking for signs that this is happening.
Psychology is critical for inflation expectations
The final guidepost I'l mention is inflation expectations, which, I've noted in a past message, have been recognized as a key factor in driving behavior. When people expect higher prices, they can sometimes make economic decisions that are likely to ensure that inflation materializes. You've no doubt heard people talk about wage-price spirals in past inflationary episodes, during which workers anticipating high inflation demanded higher wages, which in turn led firms to increase prices to cover rising labor costs.
Here the news is good. Our own Business Inflation Expectations Survey and similar measures show that expectations for inflation over the next year have steadily declined since the spring of 2022. The same story goes for expectations in financial markets and among consumers.
Psychology is critical in the inflation fight. In fact, one way I like to think about this is that the FOMC's fundamental mission is to free people from having to think about inflation as they go about their day-to-day business. That sounds straightforward. But, as I've enumerated, myriad factors go into achieving that goal.
Bottom line: when inflation is no longer top of mind, our mission will largely be accomplished. We are clearly not there yet. But I—and the Committee—are committed to doing all we can to ensure that we get there as soon as possible.
Biography
Dr. Raphael W. Bostic took office June 5, 2017, as the 15th president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He is responsible for all the Bank's activities, including monetary policy, bank supervision and regulation, and payment services. He serves on the Federal Open Market Committee, the monetary policymaking body of the Federal Reserve System.
From 2012 to 2017, Bostic was the Judith and John Bedrosian Chair in Governance and the Public Enterprise at the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California (USC).
He arrived at USC in 2001 and served as a professor in the School of Policy, Planning, and Development. His research has spanned many fields, including home ownership, housing finance, neighborhood change, and the role of institutions in shaping policy effectiveness. He was director of USC's master of real estate development degree program and was the founding director of the Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast.
Bostic also served USC's Lusk Center for Real Estate as the interim associate director from 2007 to 2009 and as the interim director from 2015 to 2016. From 2016 to 2017, he was the chair of the center's Governance, Management, and Policy Process Department.
From 2009 to 2012, Bostic was the assistant secretary for policy development and research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In that role, he was a principal adviser to the secretary on policy and research, helping the secretary and other principal staff make informed decisions on HUD policies and programs, as well as on budget and legislative proposals.
Bostic worked at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 1995 to 2001, first as an economist and then as a senior economist in the monetary and financial studies section, where his work on the Community Reinvestment Act earned him a special achievement award.
He serves on many boards and advisory committees, including the Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Georgia's Partnership for Inclusive Innovation. He is also a member of Harvard University's Board of Overseers. He is serving as the 2021–22 chair of the board of directors of the United Way of Greater Atlanta and is the 2022 chair for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
Bostic graduated from Harvard University in 1987 with a combined major in economics and psychology. He earned his doctorate in economics from Stanford University in 1995.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta serves the Sixth Federal Reserve District, which covers Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, and parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The Bank has branches in Birmingham, Jacksonville, Miami, Nashville, and New Orleans.
Updated May 2022Media Interviews
Speeches/Remarks
Publications
Bostic, Raphael W. April 18, 2020. "Opinion: Fed's Working to Aid Economy, Post-Pandemic Recovery." Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Bostic, R. and Johnson, M. January 15, 2020. "BankThink: How to keep community banks thriving." American Banker.
Boarnet, M. G.; Bostic, R. W.; Rodnyansky, S.; Burinskiy, E.; Eisenlohr, A.; Jamme, H.; and Santiago-Bartolomei, R. 2020. "Do High Income Households Reduce Driving More When Living near Rail Transit?" Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 80.
Bostic, R. W.; Jakabovics, A.; Voith, R.; and Zielenbach, S. 2019. "Mixed-Income LIHTC Developments in Chicago: A First Look at Their Income Characteristics and Spillover Impacts." In What Works to Promote Inclusive, Equitable Mixed-Income Communities, edited by Mark L. Joseph and Amy T. Khare, cluster #1, section A, no. 6.
Boarnet, M. G.; Bostic, R. W.; Burinskiy, E.; Rodnyansky, S.; and Prohofsky, A. 2018. "Gentrification near Rail Transit Areas: A Micro-Data Analysis of Moves into Los Angeles Metro Rail Station Areas." Research Reports, University of California National Center for Sustainable Transportation.
Bostic, R. W. and Molaison, D. Forthcoming. "Hurricane Katrina: Devastation, Possibilities and Prospects." In Economic and Risk Assessment of Hurricane Katrina, University of Southern California Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events.
Bostic, R.; Kim, A.; and Valenzuela, A. 2016. "An Introduction to the Special Issue: Contesting the Streets 2: Vending and Public Space in Global Cities." Cityscape 18(1): 3–10.
Bostic, R. W. and Ellen, I. G. 2014. "Introduction: Special Issue on Housing Policy in the United States." Journal of Housing Economics 24: 1–3.
Bostic, R. 2014. "CDBG at 40: Opportunities and Obstacles." Housing Policy Debate 24(1): 297–302. doi:10.1080/10511482.2013.866973.
Bostic, R. W. 2014. "Resilient Economic Development: Challenges and Opportunities." In University of Illinois Chicago Urban Forum, edited by M. Pagano. University of Illinois Press.
Bostic, R. W. and McFarlane, A. 2013. "The Proposed Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Regulatory Impact Analysis." Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research 15(3): 257.
Bostic, R. W.; Thornton, R. L.; Rudd, E. C.; and Sternthal, M. J. 2012. "Health in All Policies: The Role of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Present and Future Challenges." Health Affairs 31(9): online.
Graddy, E., with Bostic, R. W. 2010. "The Role of Private Agents in Affordable Housing Policy." Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 20, special issue: 81–99.
Bostic, R.; Gabriel, S.; and Painter, G. 2009. "Housing Wealth, Financial Wealth, and Consumption: New Evidence from Micro Data." Regional Science and Urban Economics 39(1): 79–89.
Bostic, R. W., with Engel, K.; McCoy, P.; A. Pennington-Cross; and Wachter, S. 2008. "State and Local Anti-Predatory Lending Laws: The Effect of Legal Enforcement Mechanisms." Journal of Economics and Business 60(1–2): 47–66.
An, X. and Bostic, R. W. 2008. "GSE Activity, FHA Feedback, and Implications for the Efficacy of the Affordable Housing Goals." Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics 36(2): 207–31.
An, X.; Bostic, R. W.; Deng, Y.; and Gabriel, S. 2007. "GSE Loan Purchases, the FHA, and Housing Outcomes in Targeted, Low-Income Neighborhoods." In Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs, edited by G. Burtless and J.R. Pack. Brookings Institute Press.
Sloane, D. C., with Bostic, R. W. and Lewis, L. B. 2007. "The Neighborhood Dynamics of Hospitals as Land Owners." Lincoln Land Institute publication.
Bostic, R. W., with Longhofer, S. D. and Redfearn, C. 2007. "Land Leverage: Decomposing Home Price Dynamics." Real Estate Economics 35 (2): 183–208.
Bostic, R. W. and Prohofsky, A. 2006. "Enterprise Zones and Individual Welfare: A Case Study of California." Journal of Regional Science 46 (2): 175–203.
Bostic, R. W. and Gabriel, S. A. 2006. "Do the GSEs Matter to Low-Income Housing Markets? An Assessment of the Effects of GSE Loan Purchase Activity on California Housing Outcomes." Journal of Urban Economics 59: 458–75.
Black, H.; Bostic, R. W.; Robinson, B.; and Schweitzer, R. 2005. "Do CRA-Related Events Affect Shareholder Wealth? The Case of Bank Mergers." The Financial Review 40(4): 575–86.
Bostic, R. W. with Robinson, B. 2004. "Community Banking and Mortgage Credit Availability: The Impact of CRA Agreements." Journal of Banking and Finance 28: 3069–95.
Bostic, R. W., with Calem. P. S. and Wachter, S. M. 2004. "Hitting the Wall: Credit as an Impediment to Homeownership." In Building Assets, Building Credit: Creating Wealth in Low-Income Communities, edited by N. Retsinas and E. Belsky. Joint Center for Housing Studies and Brookings Institution Press.
Bostic, R. W., with Redfearn, C. 2004. "Book Review [The Color of Credit: Mortgage Discrimination, Research Methodology and Fair Lending Enforcement, by Stephen L. Ross and John Yinger]." Journal of Regional Science 44(1):162–65.
Bostic, R. W., with Aaronson, D.; Huck, P.; and Townsend, R. 2004. "Supplier Relationships and Small Business Use of Trade Credit." Journal of Urban Economics 55(1): 46–67.
Bostic, R. W., with Barakova, I.; Calem, P.; and Wachter, S. 2003. "Does Credit Quality Matter for Homeownership?" Journal of Housing Economics 12(4): 318–36.
Bostic, R. W. 2003. "A Test of Cultural Affinity in Home Mortgage Lending." Journal of Financial Services Research 23(2): 89–112.
Bostic, R., with Robinson, B. 2003. "Do CRA Agreements Increase Lending?" Real Estate Economics 31(1): 23–51.
Bostic, R. W., with Calem, P. S. 2003. "Privacy Restrictions and the Use of Data at Credit Repositories." In Credit Reporting Systems and the International Economy, edited by Margaret J. Miller. Boston: MIT Press.
Bostic, R. W., with Martin, R. 2003. "Black Homeowners as Gentrifying Force? Neighborhood Dynamics in the Context of Minority Homeownership." Urban Studies 40(12).
Bostic, R. W. 2002. "Equal Access to Credit." In 25 Years of Credit Research, edited by Mike Staten. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
Bostic, R., with Canner, G. B. 2000. "Consolidation in Banking: How Recent Changes Have Affected the Provision of Banking Services." The Neighborworks Journal.
Bostic, R., with Avery, R. B. and Canner, G. B. 2000. "Highlights of a Survey of the Performance and Profitability of CRA-Related Lending." Housing America Update.
Bostic, R., with Avery, R. B. and Canner, G. B. 2000. "CRA Special Lending Programs." Federal Reserve Bulletin 86: 711–31.
Bostic, R., with Avery, R. B.; Calem, P. S.; and Canner, G. B. 2000. "Credit Scoring: Statistical Issues and Evidence from Credit Bureau Files." Real Estate Economics 28: 523–47.
Bostic, R., with Canner, G. B. 1998. "New Information on Small Business and Small Farm Lending: The 1996 CRA Data." Federal Reserve Bulletin 84(1): 1–21.
Bostic, R., with Avery, R. B. and Samolyk, K. A. 1998. "The Role of Personal Wealth in Small Business Finance." Journal of Banking and Finance 22: 1019–61Other Fed Work
Articles
Bostic, R.; Bower, S.; Shy, O.; Wall, L.; and Washington, J. September 2020. "Digital Payments and the Path to Financial Inclusion." Promoting Safer Payments Innovation Series no. 20-1.
Blog Posts
Raphael Bostic. "Quantitative Frightening?" macroblog. January 16, 2019.
Raphael Bostic. "What Does the Current Slope of the Yield Curve Tell Us?," macroblog. August 23, 2018.
Raphael Bostic. "Thoughts on a Long-Run Monetary Policy Framework" macroblog series:
"Framing the Question." March 26, 2018.
"Part 2: The Principle of Bounded Nominal Uncertainty." March 27, 2018.
"Part 3: An Example of Flexible Price-Level Targeting." March 28, 2018.
"Part 4: Flexible Price-Level Targeting in the Big Picture." April 2, 2018.
Interviews
Raphael Bostic. "A Big-Picture Look at the Economy. 
" ECONversations. February 21, 2018.
Economy Matters Podcast Episodes 
2020
Raphael Bostic (interviewer) and Anthony Orlando. "'These Local Problems Do Have Some National Solutions': A Conversation about Inequality." February 27, 2020.
Raphael Bostic (interviewer) and James Fallows. "Wings over America: A Conversation with Author James Fallows." . January 2, 2020.
2019
Raphael Bostic (interviewer) and Alessandro Acquisti. "Speaking Publicly on Privacy: A Conversation about Digital Privacy." April 2, 2019.
Raphael Bostic (interviewer) and Jerome Adams. "Health Is Wealth": A Conversation with the U.S. Surgeon General." January 3, 2019.
Raphael Bostic (interviewer) and Raj Chetty. "'A Kid Should Have a Fair Shot': A Discussion of Economic Mobility." October 22, 2018.
Raphael Bostic (interviewer) and David Lusk. "'It's a Really Dramatic Change': A Discussion of the Economics of Food." October 12, 2018.
Raphael Bostic. "'It's a Special Job': A Conversation with Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic." April 27, 2018.
Message from the President
Raphael Bostic. "Striking a Delicate Balance in Making Policy." March 1, 2023.
Raphael Bostic. "On Long and Variable Lags in Monetary Policy." November 15, 2022.
Raphael Bostic. "Risk Management Is Key to Monetary Policy in Uncertain Times." August 30, 2022.
Raphael Bostic. "Monetary Policy amid Changing Labor Market Dynamics." May 24, 2022.
Raphael Bostic. "Observe and Adapt: Appropriate Monetary Policy in the Face of Inflation." February 1, 2022.
Raphael Bostic. "Defining the Pursuit of Maximum Employment." September 27, 2021.
Raphael Bostic. "A Moral and Economic Imperative to End Racism." June 12, 2020.
Raphael Bostic. "A Message from Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic." March 17, 2020.
