United States Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Tom Barkin remarked on Monday at the Technology Enabled Disruption Conference in Atlanta that achieving the inflation target of 2% remains the central bank's main goal but noted that the "appropriate path to achieve it" could change depending on the developments in technology.
Speaking about the relationship between the technology and economy, Barkin noted that the advances in that area, such as the rise of electronic commerce (e-commerce) and its impact on reducing costs for retailers, "put 'the wind at our back' when it came to containing inflation." "Technological innovations pop up every day and, in time, may well impact us in ways we haven't yet anticipated. [...] [T]oday is a great opportunity to learn from the [COVID-19] pandemic and evaluate the path ahead," he concluded.
Barkin also stressed that the ongoing crisis, linked mostly to the pandemic and Russia's military operation in Ukraine, "exposed the vulnerabilities of globally complex supply chains." Still, he stressed that if the countries and companies evaluate the situation well and impose appropriate strategies, "it is of course possible that we could return to pre-pandemic wind conditions."
