Expert Sources for Federal Reserve interest rate increase: UCI faculty members available to comment

On June 15, the Federal Reserve announced its largest interest rate hike in 28 years to try to regain control over elevated consumer prices. The Fed raised its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point – the biggest increase since 1994 – following a quarter-point jump in March and a half-point increase in May. “We’re strongly committed to bringing inflation back down and we’re moving expeditiously to do so,” said Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

Eric Swanson – professor of economics. Swanson’s research focuses on monetary policy, interest rates and the effects on economy, including output, unemployment and inflation. Swanson previously worked at the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco from 1998-2014 as an economist and research advisor.

Email: eric.swanson@uci.edu

Aaron James – professor of philosophy. James co-authored the book Money from Nothing: Or, Why We Should Stop Worrying About Debt and Learn to Love the Federal Reserve, which explains the nature of money and a number of alternatives the Federal Reserve can legally employ to curb inflation other than increasing interest rates.

Email: aaron.james@uci.edu

Jack Liebersohn – assistant professor of economics. Liebersohn’s research focuses on banking, banking risk taking, mortgages and the housing market and he can speak to how increasing the Federal Reserve interest rate affects any of those elements of the economy.

Email: cjlieber@uci.edu

Christopher Schwarz – associate professor of finance and faculty director of the Center for Investment and Wealth Management. Schwarz can discuss how far the Federal Reserve will have to go and its impact on the economy and financial markets moving forward.

Email: cschwarz@uci.edu

Media Contact:

Cara Capuano, Communications Officer, UCI | 949-501-9192 | ccapuano@uci.edu