WHY WAS THE FED SO INFLATIONARY IN THE 1960S AND 1970S?

Thomas Mayer

Department of Economics from California Davis - Department of Economics

Abstract: Why was the Fed so inflationary in 1965-79? No single explanation suffices. Forecast errors and poor operating procedures played at most a minor role. Unwillingness to accept greater interest-rate variation and cognitive errors played a greater role. Political pressures also played a role, but, given its desired policy the Fed was not greatly constrained by them. Wage and price controls played an uncertain role. The most important factor was the prevailing intellectual atmosphere with its de-emphasis on the costs of inflation, its faith in the viability of an inflation/unemployment trade-off and concern with cost-push elements.

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Working Paper: Why was the Fed so Inflationary in the 1960s and 1970s? (2003)
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