An Agenda without a Plan. Robert E. Lucas’s Trajectory through the Public Debate

Un programme sans plan. La trajectoire de Robert E. Lucas à travers le débat public

Aurélien Goutsmedt, Danielle Guizzo and Francesco Sergi ()
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Francesco Sergi: UWE Bristol - University of the West of England [Bristol]

Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) from HAL

Abstract: This article explores Robert E. Lucas's policy agenda and his engagement with the public debate between the 1970s and early 1980s. It investigates how he interacted with the public debate by envisioning key principles of his macroeconomic theory and methodology, and how he promoted his policy agenda. An exploration of Lucas's personal and professional archives sheds light on his participation in policy debates after the publication of his works, illustrating how Lucas built a discreet and cautious way of engaging with the public. Lucas did not propose a detailed program to implement his policy agenda, nor was he actively promoting his policy agenda. The article suggests that Lucas's originality compared to his contemporaries was his belief on the ability of macroeconomics to scientifically devise binding policy rules that could be integrated in an economic constitution.

Keywords: Robert E. Lucas; Lucas Critique; Monetary policy; Fiscal policy; Tax policy; Policy rules (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-06-01
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-03228955v1
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Published in Œconomia - History/Methodology/Philosophy, 2019, Economics as a Public Science, Part I: The Economist’s Ethos and Modes of Persuasion, 9 (2), pp.289-314. ⟨10.4000/oeconomia.5605⟩

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Related works:
Working Paper: An Agenda without a Plan. Robert E. Lucas’s Trajectory through the Public Debate (2019)
Working Paper: An Agenda without a Plan: Robert E. Lucas's Trajectory throught the Public Debate (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-03228955

DOI: 10.4000/oeconomia.5605

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