Austan Goolsbee

Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, said there is a 'record divergence' between economic data and how Americans view the economy. His comment highlights the puzzle facing policymakers: indicators like jobs and growth look solid, while consumer sentiment remains deeply negative. The remarks add to debate over whether perceptions or the data are out of step.

Austan Goolsbee, president of the Chicago Fed, has argued that the long-standing central bank practice of 'looking through' temporary economic shocks no longer works. Writing for the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, he suggests that in today's environment of persistent supply disruptions and repeated shocks, policymakers cannot safely dismiss price pressures as transitory, a view feeding into current debate over how central banks should set interest rates.