Jackson Hole Economic Symposium

What is the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium?

The Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is a conference focusing on important economic issues that face the United States and the rest of the world.

How Does the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium Work?

The Jackson Hole Economic Symposium is also referred to as the Jackson Hole Economic Summit.

The economic event is sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and has been held annually since 1978. 

The event calls upon important central bankers and finance ministers, market analysts, and academics from all around the world, to discuss long-term trends and develop long-term outlooks on emerging future concerns.

The initial conferences concentrated on issues such as global macroeconomic concerns, international agriculture, and world trade. But since the double-dip recession of the 1980s, the event's focus has shifted toward political and financial concerns such as monetary policy and macroeconomic issues such as: price stability, financial market volatility and debt sustainability. The conference even keeps the possibility of a complete restructuring of the financial system on the table for discussion.

Why Does the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium Matter?

Statements made at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium are watched closely by investors and major market players. Unanticipated remarks about a market's outlook that are made from important speakers of the event can have a major impact on global stock and currency prices.

The international, future-looking conference has had its share of criticism, with some analysts complaining that it "failed" to prevent recent global financial crises. But defenders of the conference explain that no institution or market expert could have accurately predicted the way international markets would react in a financial meltdown.