Search Results
Working Paper
The Taylor rule and the transformation of monetary policy
This paper examines the intellectual history of the Taylor Rule and its considerable influence on macroeconomic research and monetary policy. The paper traces the historical antecedents to the Taylor rule, emphasizing the contributions of three prominent advocates of rules--Henry Simons, A.W. H. Phillips, and Milton Friedman. The paper then examines the evolution of John Taylor's thinking as an academic and policy advisor leading up to his formulation of the Taylor rule. Finally, the paper documents the influence of the Taylor rule on macroeconomic research and the Federal Reserve's conduct ...
Journal Article
Schwartz on Friedman
Report
Who is afraid of the Friedman rule?
We explore the connection between optimal monetary policy and heterogeneity among agents. We utilize a standard monetary economy with two types of agents that differ in the marginal utility they derive from real money balances-a framework that produces a nondegenerate stationary distribution of money holdings. Without type-specific fiscal policy, we show that the zero-nominal-interest-rate policy (the Friedman rule) does not maximize type-specific welfare; further, it may not maximize aggregate ex ante social welfare. Indeed one or, more surprisingly, both types of agents may benefit if the ...
Journal Article
Friedman and Taylor on monetary policy rules: a comparison
The names Milton Friedman and John Taylor are associated with different monetary policy rules; but, as shown in this paper, the difference between their perceptions of how the economy works is not great. The monetary policy rules advanced by Taylor and Friedman are compared by linking the rules to the two economists' underlying views about nominal rigidity, the source of trade-offs, the sources of shocks, and model uncertainty. Taylor and Friedman both emphasized Phillips curve specifications that impose temporary nominal price rigidity and the long-run natural-rate restriction; and they ...
Journal Article
Milton Friedman and U.S. monetary history: 1961-2006
This paper, using extensive archival material from several countries, brings together scattered information about Milton Friedman's views and predictions regarding U.S. monetary policy developments after 1960 (i.e., the period beyond that covered by his and Anna Schwartz's Monetary History of the United States). The author evaluates these interpretations and predictions in light of subsequent events.
Working Paper
Milton Friedman and U.K. economic policy: 1938-1979
This paper analyzes the interaction of Milton Friedman and U.K. economic policy from 1938 to 1979. The period under study is separated into 1938-1946, 1946-1959, 1959-1970, and 1970-1979. For each of these subperiods, I consider Friedman's observations on and dealings with key events, issues, and personalities in U.K. monetary policy and in general U.K. economic policy.
Speech
Milton and money stock control
Milton Friedman Luncheon, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Mo., July 31, 2007
Journal Article
Milton Friedman, teacher, 1912-2006
Nobel laureate Milton Friedman, who died on November 16, 2006, made monumental contributions to economics and changed the course of modern central banking. Many of his proposals for the conduct of monetary policy were controversial at the time he made them but are now widely accepted. This Commentary reviews some of them.
Journal Article
Milton Friedman and U.K. economic policy: 1938-1979
Milton Friedman's publications and commentaries became the subject of enormous publicity and scrutiny in the United Kingdom. This paper analyzes the interaction of Milton Friedman and U.K. economic policy from 1938 to 1979. The period under study is separated into four subperiods: 1938-46, 1946-59, 1959-70, and 1970-79. For each of these subperiods, the author considers Friedman's observations on, and role in, key developments in U.K. monetary policy and in general U.K. economic policy.