Economics

Who Doubts Yellen's Policies? Summers for One

Janet Yellen, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Janet Yellen is betting she has the formula for fending off deflationary forces. Investors and some of her fellow economists aren’t so sure.

The Fed chair says history and theory suggest wages will pick up as the job market tightens, and prices will rise in line with the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target. Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers argues policy makers can’t count on this, while Richard Clarida of Columbia University in New York says it hasn’t happened in the last few economic expansions.