Working Paper

How did we get to inflation targeting and where do we go now? a perspective from the U.S. experience

Abstract: This paper advances the hypothesis that the transition from there-is-little-central-banks-can-do-to-control-inflation to inflation targeting occurred because central banks, especially the Federal Reserve, demonstrated that central banks can control inflation rather than a consequence of marked improvement in the professions understanding of how monetary policy controls inflation. As consequence, monetary theorists and central bankers have returned to a Phillips curve framework for formulating and evaluating the monetary policy. I suggest that the return to the Phillips curve framework endangers the continued effectiveness, and perhaps even viability, of inflation targeting, recommend three steps that inflation-targeting central banks should take to preserve and strengthen inflation targeting.

Keywords: Monetary policy; Phillips curve; Inflation targeting;

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Part of Series: Working Papers

Publication Date: 2009

Number: 2009-038