Bernanke rejected Krugman's policy recommendations.
"The question is, does it make sense to actively seek a higher inflation rate in order to achieve" a slightly faster reduction in the unemployment rate, Bernanke said last week. "The view of the committee is that that would be very reckless."
Krugman said yesterday that the Fed should keep its benchmark interest rate low until "well past" late 2014. "We could be better off at 4" percent inflation, he said.
The jobless rate has exceeded 8 percent since February 2009 and is projected to hold at 8.2 percent in April, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News ahead of a May 4 report from the Labor Department.
Krugman also said the U.S. can withstand more fiscal stimulus.
"There's no reason to panic over our debt now," Krugman said. "If you cut spending now, what it does is depress the economy. It's a self-defeating policy."