Ex-Fed economist Bill Nelson on Federal Reserve strategy

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bill Nelson has experienced the workings of the Federal Reserve from both sides of the street. Nelson is the chief economist of the Bank Policy Institute, a trade group for U.S. banks. Earlier in his career, he served as an economist at the Federal Reserve and rose to become deputy director of the Division of Monetary Affairs, which provides guidance for the Fed’s interest rate decisions. Like many economists, Nelson says the Fed took too long this year to start raising rates. He favors a more forward-looking strategy from the Fed, which has recently made several sharp policy shifts in response to the latest economic data.