This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

A price target for U.S. monetary policy? Lessons from the experience with money growth targets

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Benjamin M. Friedman
Kenneth N. Kuttner

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

The cutting edge of recent efforts to reshape monetary policy in many countries has been to impose a price target on the central bank. This paper examines such a policy in light of the Federal Reserve System's experience with money targeting from the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The empirical analysis documents the Federal Reserve's initial use and subsequent disregard of money growth targets, and shows that abandoning these targets was a sensible response to the changing mix of shocks affecting the U.S. economy -- specifically, an increase in the relative volatility of money demand shocks. This experience provides little ground for confidence that a price target would be optimal for U.S. monetary policy. Even if the structure of the relevant shocks at any particular time were to appear favorable, a policy based on a price target would likewise be undermined if the relative volatility of aggregate supply shocks increased.

Download Info
To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
1. Check below under "Related research" whether another version of this item is available online.
2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in its series Working Paper Series, Macroeconomic Issues with number WP-96-14.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: 1996
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:fip:fedhma:wp-96-14

Contact details of provider:
Postal: P.O. Box 834, 230 South LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60690-0834
Phone: 312/322-5111
Fax: 312/322-5515
Email:
Web page: http://www.chicagofed.org/
More information through EDIRC

Order Information:
Email:
Web: http://www.frbchi.org/pubs-speech/publications/print_order_script.html

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Diane Rosenberger).

Related research
Keywords: Monetary policy ; Federal Reserve System ; Prices;

Other versions of this item:

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)
This item has more than 25 citations. To prevent cluttering this page, these citations are listed on a separate page.
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? All bibliographic data on IDEAS has been put in the public domain by the publishers.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-10.


This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.