AI, Inflation, and the Future of Monetary Policy

This event is part of the Wharton San Francisco Faculty Series

Join Wharton finance professor Joao Gomes for a discussion on how the AI investment boom is reshaping inflation, interest rates, and monetary policy. Explore how policymakers are balancing today's inflation risks with tomorrow's economic potential—and what those decisions mean for investment, markets, and long-term economic growth.

The program begins with a one-hour faculty talk and audience Q&A from 5:30–6:30 p.m., followed by a networking reception from 6:30–7:15 p.m. Connect with fellow Wharton alumni and Bay Area industry professionals while continuing the conversation and exchanging ideas inspired by the discussion.

The Wharton San Francisco Faculty Series brings Wharton's latest research and insights to the Bay Area through engaging talks with world-renowned faculty. Designed for alumni, industry practitioners, academics, and policy workers, each event explores timely topics shaping business, markets, and society while providing opportunities to engage directly with Wharton faculty and connect with fellow attendees.

EVENT DETAILS

Monday, August 17, 2026

5:30 PM - 7:15 PM • Wharton San Francisco 

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Joao Gomes

The Wharton School

Joao F. Gomes is the Howard Butcher III, Professor of Finance and Senior Vice Dean of Research, Centers, and Academic Initiatives at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His expertise is on the role of financial markets to the macroeconomy.

Gomes has published in the top academic journals in both Economics and Finance. His research covers: (i) corporate investment and financing, (ii) the effects of monetary policy on corporate decisions; and (iii) the linkages between firm leverage and investment, equity prices and the cost of capital. He has won multiple awards including the Smith Breeden Prize for Best Asset Pricing Paper published in the Journal of Finance, the Marshall Blume First Prize in Financial Research, the Award for Best Investments Paper presented at the Western Finance Association meetings, the Jacobs Levy Outstanding Paper Prize, and the Crowell Memorial Prize.

Professor Gomes joined the Wharton School in 1997. He was a Visiting Professor at the London Business School and the New University of Lisbon in Portugal. He is currently also a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Earlier in his career he was an economic advisor in the Ministry of Industry of Portugal.