Financial Markets and Institutions (2-downloads)

Green, Blue, Teal, and Beige: What Do These Colors

Mean at the Fed?

Three research documents play an important role in

the monetary policy process and at Federal Open

Market Committee meetings. Up until 2010, a

detailed national forecast for the next three years,

generated by the Federal Reserve Board of

Governor’s Research and Statistics Division, was

placed between green covers and was thus known as

the “green book.” Projections for the monetary aggre-

gates prepared by the Monetary Affairs Division of

the Board of Governors, along with typically three

alternative scenarios for monetary policy decisions

(labeled A, B, and C), were contained in the “blue

book” in blue covers. Both books were distributed to

all participants in FOMC meetings. Starting in 2010,

the green and the blue book were combined into the

“teal book” with teal covers: teal is the color that is a

combination of green and blue.* The “beige book,”

with beige covers, is produced by the Reserve banks

and details evidence gleaned either from surveys or

from talks with key businesses and financial institu-

tions on the state of the economy in each of the

Federal Reserve districts. This is the only one of the

books that is distributed publicly, and it often receives

a lot of attention in the press.

*These FOMC documents are made public after five years and their

content can be found at 

www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/

fomc_historical.htm

.

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Chapter 9 Central Banks and the Federal Reserve System

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