The Reform of Macroeconomic Policy : From Stagflation to Low or Zero Inflation

This text examines ways to improve macroeconomic policy in the context of the various macroeconomic problems of the 1980s and 1990s, with the chapters having been written at various times over that period. It emphasizes the need to find the best combinations of monetary policy and different forms of taxation and government outlays to achieve high employment and low inflation. There is a concluding chapter discussing the special problems that arise when inflation has become low, zero or even negative. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 List of Tables......Page 7 Acknowledgements......Page 10 1 Introduction (1998)......Page 12 2 Principles of Macroeconomic Policy in a Stagflationary World (1981)......Page 15 3 Macromiximisation (1980)......Page 39 4 Towards the Formulation and Testing of a More General Theory of Macroeconomic Policy (1987)......Page 64 5 Some Empirical Evidence about the Macroeconomic Mix (1990)......Page 82 6 Empirical Evidence about the Macroeconomic Mix in the Open Economy (1989)......Page 98 7 Public Finance and Macroeconomic Policy (1991)......Page 120 8 Of Budget Deficits and Macroeconomic Policy (1996)......Page 139 9 The Dangers of Targeting the Budget Deficit (1995)......Page 154 10 Of Wage–Tax Trade-offs and Macroeconomic Mixes (1981)......Page 167 11 Deregulation and Macroeconomic Policy (1989)......Page 178 12 Macroeconomic Policy in Conditions of Low, Zero or Negative Inflation (1998)......Page 189 Appendix: Gilbertian Parodies for Economists......Page 203 References......Page 208 Index......Page 212 "This book discusses ways of improving macroeconomic policy by varying the combinations of monetary policy with different sorts of government outlays and revenue to deal with the combinations of problems experienced during the past twenty years or so. It draws upon various forms of empirical evidence to show that the use of targets, such as the budget deficit, is not helpful for finding the appropriate combinations of measures. There is also a discussion of various types of wage and income policies as a means of achieving macroeconomic objectives."--Jacket This book discusses ways to improve macroeconomic policy in the context of the various macroeconomic problems of the past two decades, with the chapters having been written at various times over that period. It emphasises the need to find the best combinations of monetary policy and different forms of taxation and government outlays to achieve high employment and low inflation. There is a concluding chapter discussing the special problems that arise when inflation has become low, zero or even negative.