In March 31, 2016 interview with Jeremy Hobson of NPR’s Here and Now, Summers talked about the economy, the Fed and Donald Trump. Summers said, “I am more enthusiastic about the message of caution than the message of adjustment.”
Click here to listen to the full interview.
The stock market reacted positively this week to comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. She called the economy’s performance this year somewhat mixed, but she said growth is on track and it is “appropriate for the committee to proceed cautiously in adjusting policy.”
Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson sat down with economist Larry Summers, who served as secretary of the U.S. Treasury under President Bill Clinton, about Yellen’s comments, the economy and the presidential election.
Summers says he believes the Fed is correct to watch the economic data carefully, but that unless the patterns change, he is not sure it would be appropriate to raise interest rates.
“On current data, I don’t think there is a warrant for raising rates, but the world’s an uncertain place, and the data could easily change,” he told Jeremy Hobson. “I certainly would not favor a policy of ruling out a rate increase.”