What is the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium?

The Jackson Hole Economic Symposium is an annual symposium that allows an open discussion of economic issues, stock and currency issues facing the economies of the world. It is a prominent conference that witnesses the attendance of bankers, academics, finance ministers, among other prominent participants. The symposium was sponsored in 1978 by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has been the convergence for the symposium since 1981. Being a platform for the discussion of critical issues that world economies are faced with, different topics touching world economy are considered every year. Strategic policy options resulting from the topic discussed and its implications emanate from each symposium.

Back to: ECONOMIC ANALYSIS & MONETARY POLICY

Why is the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium Important?

The major objective of the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium is to stimulate a platform where open discussion of economic issues can be held. The symposium is held every year, it is prominent and known to be the most persistent central bank sponsored conference in the world. Professionals and participants of the conference are based on selection, these attendees are selected based on the topic for the symposium, relevance and contributions to critical issues that affect the economies of the world. However, attendees are also selected to cater for all regions. Every year, about 120 attendees from different regions and backgrounds attend the conference. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City with the help of stakeholders decide on the topic for the annual symposium, different topics are selected for discussion each year. Once the topic is selected, experts, scholars and professionals in the field are required to write essays and papers on subtopics that suits the selected topic. Many authors have written papers on diverse topics of symposium overtime. Policies, decisions and transcripts emanating from the symposium are made available to all as they are published on the website. The compilation is done after careful deliberations which might take a long process before they are published. Quite a number of topics have been discussed at the Jackson Hole Economic symposium, here are a few examples of past topics;

• In 1984, the topic for the symposium was The Causes of Inflation, central bankers, finance ministers, academics and other selected participants gathered to discuss the topic. The topic was selected to prevent inflation and absurd rise in prices that world economies are likely to experience.
• In 2015, Inflation Dynamics and Monetary Policy was discussed at symposium. This was to help economies come out of inflation and stay ahead of it in the future.
• Other recent topics are Designing Resilient Monetary Policy Frameworks for the Future (2016), Fostering a Dynamic Global Economy (2017) and Changing Market Structure and Implications for Monetary Policy (2018).