25 08 2014

Fewer economists believe US policy on right track

The Federal Reserve's monetary policy is headed in the right direction, but the U.S. also needs to enact structural policies in order to stimulate stronger economic growth, according to a new survey released Monday.

The National Association for Business Economics' economic policy survey found 53 percent believe U.S. monetary policy is on the right track, that's down slightly compared with 57 percent in February 2014. And 39 percent felt that the current economic policy was too stimulative.

When asked how policy makers should address deficit problems and their impact on gross domestic product, 36 percent of respondents said the U.S. should enact structural policies to spur stronger GDP. Last year, only 20 percent supported this approach.

According to the survey, a majority of economists were less concerned about fiscal policy uncertainty in comparison to earlier polls.

"While there is no clear consensus on current fiscal policy, the share expressing approval has increased markedly to 42 percent compared to just 31 percent one year ago," says NABE president Jack Kleinhenz. "Over this same period, the panel's approval of Federal Reserve policy has edged downward."