COMMERCIAL PRINTING - A Soft Landing

There is much closer agreement when it comes to projections for the general economy. The study's findings also call for a slowing in GDP growth, in this case to 3.4 percent. (This, again, is a projected compound annual growth rate for the years 2000 to 2003.)

NAPL's Papparozzi cautions that it is very important to keep in mind that this type of effort to fine-tune the economy is inherently risky. That's because no one knows exactly how large of an increase in interest rates is just right to achieve the target GDP growth rate and, unfortunately, interest rates work with a very long lag, he says.