What and how the public knows about the Fed

The public’s knowledge about the Fed is important in part because it can affect expectations that influence monetary policy. Results from a 2020 survey of 841 adults indicate that those who are male, age 60 or over, have higher incomes, more education, and who studied economics in college exhibit more knowledge about the Fed. Knowledge about the Fed also improves when people follow the news regularly. News sources matter: those who get their news from news websites exhibit more knowledge, while those who get their news from social media exhibit less knowledge. Because learning about the Fed is found to increase with age, implications for economic educators include emphasizing the importance of following the news and using credible news sources for lifelong learning.