Balancing Act: Austan Goolsbee on the Federal Reserve and the Economy
Austan Goolsbee and Brent Neiman discuss the forces shaping monetary policy and what they mean for the American economy.
Jun
25
Paul Beaty / AP
About This Event
The American economy in 2026 presents a contradictory picture: inflation has cooled, yet prices remain stubbornly high, and unemployment has risen even as some industries struggle to hire. What do these tensions mean for the Federal Reserve? How does it balance national policy with diverging regional realities? And as new forces like artificial intelligence and automation reshape the labor market, are these changes delivering real productivity gains, or is the promise still outpacing the reality? Join Austan Goolsbee, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and Brent Neiman for a conversation on monetary policy, regional economics, and where the data suggests we're headed.
About the Speakers
President & Chief Executive Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Austan D. Goolsbee is president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He serves on the Federal Open Market Committee—the Federal Reserve System’s monetary policymaking body—and leads the Chicago Fed, which conducts research and monitors local economic conditions in support of the formulation of monetary policy, supervises and regulates banking organizations, and provides financial services to banks and similar institutions, as well as to the US government.
Edward Eagle Brown Professor of Economics, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Emerging Leaders Alumni
Brent Neiman is the Edward Eagle Brown Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. From 2022 to 2025, he served at the US Department of the Treasury as counselor to the secretary and deputy undersecretary for international finance. Previously, he was a staff economist for the White House Council of Economic Advisers and worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and McKinsey & Company.