Editorial Board

Where the Fed Goes From Here

Janet Yellen is right: Mainstream economic thinking will have to change.

The view from Jackson Hole.

Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Investors scouring Janet Yellen’s speech last Friday for clues on short-term interest rates came away disappointed. The Fed chair chose to deliver a more important message: The future of U.S. macroeconomic policy cannot be like the past.

Dealing briskly with the immediate future, Yellen made it clear that the Fed’s short-term stance is watchful waiting -- just like before the speech. Turning to the main theme of the annual economic policy conference, Yellen addressed a much bigger question.