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2003, No. 25
Posted 2003-11-01

Monetary Policy in Jobless Recoveries

by Michael R. Pakko

The relatively slow pace of economic growth during the current recovery—particularly the sluggish performance of labor markets—has inspired numerous comparisons to the “jobless” recovery that followed the 1990-91 recession. While there are some striking similarities between the two episodes, each recession is unique and one should not carry comparisons too far. Nevertheless, it is interesting to consider similarities and differences in the responses of monetary policy.