Geoff.Tootell@bos.frb.org
Biography
Geoffrey M.B. Tootell is an executive vice president and the director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Among Tootell’s primary responsibilities is oversight of the work of the Boston Fed’s research department, including economic analysis for the monetary policy deliberations of the Bank’s president and board of directors.
Tootell’s research focuses on monetary policy, with particular emphasis on the determinants of inflation and the decision-making of the FOMC. He has explored the role asset prices might play in policymaking and whether the Federal Reserve’s economic forecasts might be improved by incorporating bank supervisory information. He also has written a number of influential articles on racial patterns in mortgage lending.
Tootell received his PhD in economics from Harvard University, where he also did his undergraduate work and was a John Harvard Scholar.
Work Experience
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Executive Vice President and Director of Research, 2017–
Senior Vice President and Director of Research, 2011–2016
Senior Vice President and Deputy Director of Research, 2008–2010
Vice President and Economist, 1998–2007
Assistant Vice President and Economist, 1993–1997
Economist, 1989–1993
Harvard University
Instructor, 1985–1989
Education
PhD, Harvard University, 1989
AB, Harvard University (Magna Cum Laude, John Harvard Scholar), 1983
Public Service
Referee: American Economic Review; Review of Economics and Statistics; Quarterly Journal of Economics; Journal of International Money and Finance; Journal of Money, Credit and Banking; Journal of Economics and Business; Journal of Macroeconomics
Publications
Refereed journal articles
"Inflation Dynamics When Inflation is Near Zero," with Giovanni Olivei and Jeff Fuhrer. Journal of Money, Credit and Banking. 44(1): 83-122 (February 2012). Previously issued as FRB Boston Working Paper Series, paper no. 11-7 (2011).
"Eyes on the Prize: How Did the Fed Respond to Stock Prices?" with Jeff Fuhrer. Journal of Monetary Economics. 55(4): 796-805 (May 2008). Previously issued as FRB Boston Public Policy Discussion Paper Series, paper no. 04-2 (2004).
"Redlining, the Community Reinvestment Act, and Private Mortgage Insurance,” with Stephen L. Ross. Journal of Urban Economics 55(2): 278-297 (March 2004).
"Identifying the Macroeconomic Effect of Loan Supply Shocks," with Joe Peek and Eric S. Rosengren. Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking 35(6) part 1: 931-946 (December 2003).
"Does the Federal Reserve Possess an Exploitable Informational Advantage?" with Joe Peek and Eric S. Rosengren. Journal of Monetary Economics 50(4): 817-839 (May 2003).
"Reserve Banks, the Discount Rate Recommendation, and FOMC Policy.”Southern Economic Journal 66(4): 957-975 (April 2000).
"Is Bank Supervision Central to Central Banking?” with Joe Peek and Eric Rosengren. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 114(2): 629-653 (May 1999).
"Whose Monetary Policy Is It Anyway?” Journal of Monetary Economics 43(1): 217-235 (February 1999).
"Redlining in Boston: Do Mortgage Lenders Discriminate Against Neighborhoods?” Quarterly Journal of Economics 111(4): 1049-1079 (November 1996).
"Appointment Procedures and a Partisan Political Model of the FOMC.” Southern Economic Journal 63(1): 191-204 (July 1996).
"Mortgage Lending in Boston: Interpreting the HMDA Data,” with Alicia H. Munnell, Lynn E. Browne, and James McEneaney. American Economic Review86(1): 25-53 (March 1996).
Other journal articles
"How Humans Behave: Implications for Economics and Economic Policy,” with Richard W. Kopcke and Jane Sneddon Little. New England Economic Review (2004 Issue).
"Issues In Economics: What Is the Cost of Deflation?” with Jeffrey Fuhrer. Regional Review 14(1) (Quarter 4, 2003/Quarter 1, 2004).
"Central Banking in Other Industrialized Countries: The Bank of England’s Approach to Monetary Policy,” with Richard Kopcke and others. New England Economic Review (Second Quarter 2002).
"Investment and Employment by Manufacturing Plants,” with Richard W. Kopcke and Robert K. Triest. New England Economic Review (Issue Number 2, 2001).
"Using Bank Supervisory Data to Improve Macroeconomic Forecasts,” with Joe Peek and Eric S. Rosengren. New England Economic Review(September/October 1999).
"Globalization and U.S. Inflation.” New England Economic Review (July/August 1998).
"How Farsighted Is the FOMC?” New England Economic Review(January/February 1997).
"Perspective: Labor Market Slack and NAIRU Jackets,” with Lauren K. Fine.Regional Review 5(1) (Winter 1995).
"Mortgage Lending in Boston--A Response to the Critics,” with Lynn E. Browne. New England Economic Review (September/October 1995).
"Race and Mortgage Lending, Dissecting the Controversy,” with Lynn E. Browne.Regional Review 5(4) (Fall 1995).
"Restructuring, the NAIRU, and the Phillips Curve." New England Economic Review (September/October 1994).
"Defaults, Denials, and Discrimination in Mortgage Lending." New England Economic Review (September/October 1993).
"Purchasing Power Parity Within the United States." New England Economic Review (July/August 1992).
"Are District Presidents More Conservative then Board Governors?" New England Economic Review (September/October 1991).
"Regional Economic Conditions and the FOMC Votes of District Presidents." New England Economic Review (March/April 1991).
"Central Bank Flexibility and the Drawbacks to Currency Unification." New England Economic Review (May/June 1990).
"How Natural Is the Natural Rate of Unemployment in Europe?" New England Economic Review (January/February 1990).
Books and book chapters
The Macroeconomics of Fiscal Policy, edited with Richard W. Kopcke and Robert K. Triest. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, February 2006.
"Introduction: The Macroeconomics of Fiscal Policy," with Richard W. Kopcke and Robert K. Triest, in The Macroeconomics of Fiscal Policy, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, February 2006.
"Synergies between Bank Supervision and Monetary Policy: Implications for the Design of Bank Regulatory Structure,” with Joe Peek and Eric Rosengren, inPrudential Supervision: Why Is It Important and What Are the Issues? NBER, Fredrick Mishkin, ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001.
"Can Bank Supervisory Information Improve Forecasts of Variables Critical to Monetary Policy?” with Joe Peek and Eric S. Rosengren. In Payments Systems in the Global Economy: Risks and Opportunities. Proceedings from the FRB Chicago 34th Annual Conference on Bank Structure and Competition, 1998.
"Turning a Critical Eye on the Critics," in Mortgage Lending, Racial Discrimination, and Federal Policy, John Goering and Ron Wienk, eds. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press, 1996, pp. 143-82.
Working papers and other unpublished papers
“Should the Fed Regularly Evaluate Its Monetary Policy Framework?” 2018. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 18-8. Forthcoming in the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Fall 2018.
"Does Fed Policy Reveal a Ternary Mandate?" with Joe Peek, and Eric S. Rosengren. FRB Boston Working Paper Series, paper no. 16-11. (2016).
"Inflation Dynamics When Inflation is Near Zero," with Jeffrey C. Fuhrer and Giovanni P. Olivei. FRB Boston Working Paper Series, paper no. 11-17, (2011).
"Do Commodity Price Spikes Cause Long-Term Inflation?" FRB Boston Public Policy Brief Series, paper no. 11-1 (2011).
"Empirical Estimates of Changing Inflation Dynamics," with Jeff Fuhrer and Giovanni Olivei. FRB Boston Working Paper Series, paper no. 09-4 (2009).
"Eyes on the Prize: How Did the Fed Respond to the Stock Market?” with Jeff Fuhrer. FRB Boston Public Policy Discussion Series, paper no. 04-2 (2004).
"Identifying the Macroeconomic Effect of Loan Supply Shocks,” with Joe Peek and Eric S. Rosengren. FRB Boston Working Papers Series, paper no. 00-2 (2000).
"Is Bank Supervision Central to Central Banking?” with Joe Peek and Eric S. Rosengren. FRB Boston Working Papers Series, paper no. 99-7 (1999).
"Does the Federal Reserve Possess an Exploitable Informational Advantage?” with Joe Peek and Eric S. Rosengren. FRB Boston Working Papers Series, paper no. 99-8 (1999).
"Does the Federal Reserve Have an Informational Advantage? You Can Bank on It,” with Joe Peek and Eric Rosengren. FRB Boston Working Papers Series, paper no. 98-2 (1998).
"Reserve Banks, the Discount Rate Recommendation, and FOMC Policy.” FRB Boston Working Papers Series, paper no. 96-11 (1996).
"Can Studies of Application Denials and Mortgage Defaults Uncover Taste-Based Discrimination?” FRB Boston Working Papers Series, paper no. 96-10 (1996).
"Redlining in Boston: Do Mortgage Lenders Discriminate Against Neighborhoods?” FRB Boston Working Papers Series, paper no. 96-6 (1996).
"Whose Monetary Policy Is It, Anyway?” mimeo (1996).
"Discrimination, Redlining, and Private Mortgage Insurance.” FRB Boston Working Papers Series, paper no. 95-10 (1995).
"Should We Drop the 'New' from 'New Keynesians'?” mimeo (1992).
Other material
"Insights from the Boston Fed Study of Mortgage Discrimination," with Lynn E. Browne. American Bankers Association: Fair Lending Analysis, 1995, pp. 49-56.