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The Impact of Milton Friedman on Modern Monetary Economics: Setting the Record Straight on Paul Krugman's "Who Was Milton Friedman?"

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  • Edward Nelson
  • Anna J. Schwartz

Abstract

Paul Krugman's essay "Who Was Milton Friedman?" seriously mischaracterizes Friedman's economics and his legacy. In this paper we provide a rejoinder to Krugman on these issues. In the course of setting the record straight, we provide a self-contained guide to Milton Friedman's impact on modern monetary economics and on today's central banks. We also refute the conclusions that Krugman draws about monetary policy from the experiences of the United States in the 1930s and of Japan in the 1990s.

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  • Edward Nelson & Anna J. Schwartz, 2007. "The Impact of Milton Friedman on Modern Monetary Economics: Setting the Record Straight on Paul Krugman's "Who Was Milton Friedman?"," NBER Working Papers 13546, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13546
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    Cited by:

    1. Nelson, Edward, 2017. "Reaffirming the Influence of Milton Friedman on U.K. Economic Policy," Working Papers 2017-01, University of Sydney, School of Economics, revised Feb 2017.
    2. William Poole & Robert H. Rasche & David C. Wheelock, 2013. "The Great Inflation: Did The Shadow Know Better?," NBER Chapters, in: The Great Inflation: The Rebirth of Modern Central Banking, pages 61-107, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Boyer, Russell S., 2009. "Reflections on Milton Friedman's contributions to open economy money/macro," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(7), pages 1097-1116, November.
    4. Edward Nelson, 2020. "Seven Fallacies Concerning Milton Friedman's “The Role of Monetary Policy”," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 52(1), pages 145-164, February.
    5. Lothian, James R., 2009. "Milton Friedman's monetary economics and the quantity-theory tradition," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(7), pages 1086-1096, November.
    6. Edward Nelson, 2008. "Why Money Growth Determines Inflation in the Long Run: Answering the Woodford Critique," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 40(8), pages 1791-1814, December.
    7. Carlos Esteban Posada P. & Jorge Andrés Tamayo C., 2009. "La crisis reciente de Estados Unidos (2007-2008): redescubriendo la importancia del mercado de "fondos prestables"," Borradores de Economia 554, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    8. Robert F. Stauffer, 2010. "Krugman Versus Friedman: Monetary Policy, 1929–1933, A Note," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 55(1), pages 132-134, May.
    9. Edward Nelson, 2008. "Friedman and Taylor on monetary policy rules: a comparison," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 90(Mar), pages 95-116.
    10. Akhand Akhtar Hossain, 2019. "Does money have a role in the inflation process? Evidence from Australia," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(2), pages 113-129, June.
    11. Akhand Akhtar Hossain, 2015. "The Evolution of Central Banking and Monetary Policy in the Asia-Pacific," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14611.
    12. Scott Sumner, 2022. "Whither monetarism?," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(2), pages 275-287, June.
    13. Nell, Kevin, 2023. "Inflation and growth in developing economies: A tribute to Professor Thirlwall," MPRA Paper 118757, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 Sep 2023.
    14. Jorge N Zumaeta, 2021. "Money Illusion in Charitable Giving in the Absence of Market Price Resistance," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 13(3), pages 24-33.
    15. Akhand Akhtar Hossain, 2019. "How justified is abandoning money in the conduct of monetary policy in Australia on the grounds of instability in the money‐demand function?," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 48(2), July.
    16. Dragoljub Stojanov, 2009. "Keynes and economic crisis: some reconsiderations," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 27(2), pages 293-310.
    17. David Laidler, 2013. "Reassessing the Thesis of the Monetary History," University of Western Ontario, Economic Policy Research Institute Working Papers 20135, University of Western Ontario, Economic Policy Research Institute.
    18. Peter J. Boettke & Daniel J. Smith, 2016. "Evolving views on monetary policy in the thought of Hayek, Friedman, and Buchanan," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 29(4), pages 351-370, December.
    19. Johannes A. Schwarzer, 2018. "Retrospectives: Cost-Push and Demand-Pull Inflation: Milton Friedman and the "Cruel Dilemma"," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 32(1), pages 195-210, Winter.

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    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E51 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Money Supply; Credit; Money Multipliers
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies

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