US Fed appoints Marc Andreessen to co-lead productivity, jobs task force to assess economic impact of new technologies

New Delhi: The US Federal Reserve has appointed Marc Andreessen, cofounder and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz to co-lead one of the five task forces that will review and modernise the central bank's monetary policymaking framework, as per a statement by the Federal Reserve.

The Federal Reserve on Thursday announced the leadership and objectives of the task forces, which will examine key areas of monetary policy and provide independent recommendations to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) as Fed Chair Kevin Warsh seeks to strengthen the Fed's approach amid a rapidly changing economic landscape.

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"The Federal Reserve's commitment to price stability and maximum employment is unwavering. As is our resolve to pursue our mandate with rigor," said Chairman Kevin Warsh, as per the release.

The five task forces will be co-led by external advisers--accomplished economists, business leaders, and former central bank practitioners. "Supported by Federal Reserve staff, they will operate independently, with a mandate to follow the evidence, provide candid feedback, and produce rigorous findings for the Federal Open Market Committee," it said.

As per the release, Andreessen will serve on the Productivity and Jobs task force alongside Stanford University economist Charles I. Jones and Microsoft Executive Vice President and XBOX CEO Asha Sharma.

The group will assess the economic impact of emerging general-purpose technologies, including artificial intelligence, to help inform the Fed's policy decisions.

Besides Productivity and Jobs, the Federal Reserve has constituted task forces on communications, balance sheet policy, data, and inflation frameworks.

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Additionally, the panels bring together prominent global policymakers and economists, including former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, former Bank of England Governor Mervyn King, Harvard economist Greg Mankiw, Nobel laureate Thomas Sargent, Harvard professor Raj Chetty, and former Central Bank of Brazil President Arminio Fraga.

"The U.S. economy has changed significantly over the last generation, and never more so than right now. Each task force will carefully consider whether policymakers' means and methods, analytical tools and policy approaches can be improved upon. I am honored that the best minds from a range of disciplines have agreed to work with us to sharpen our performance as an institution. The goal is straightforward: to ensure the Fed is best positioned to achieve our objectives in this consequential time," said Warsh.