Karl Brunner and Monetarism

by Thomas Moser (Editor), Marcel Savioz (Editor)

Overview

Economists consider the legacy of Karl Brunner’s monetarism and its influence on current debates over monetary policy.


Monetarism emerged in the 1950s and 1960s as a school of economic thought that questioned certain tenets of Keynesianism. Emphasizing the monetary nature of inflation and the responsibility of central banks for price stability, monetarism held sway in the inflation-plagued 1970s, but saw its influence begin to decline in the 1980s. Although Milton Friedman is the economist most closely associated with the development of monetarism, it was Karl Brunner (1916–1989) who introduced the term into the current vocabulary of economics and shaped its meaning. In this volume, leading economists—many of them Brunner’s friends and former colleagues—consider the influence of Brunner’s monetarism on current debates over monetary policy.

Some contributors were participants in debates between Keynesians and monetarists; others analyze specific aspects of monetarism as theorized by Brunner and his close collaborator Allan Meltzer, or address its influence on US and European monetary policy. Others take the opportunity to examine Brunner-Meltzer monetarism through the lens of contemporary macroeconomics and monetary models. The book grows out of a symposium that marked the 100th anniversary of Brunner’s birth.

Contributors
Ernst Baltensperger, Michael D. Bordo, Pierrick Clerc, Alex Cukierman, Michel De Vroey, James Forder, Benjamin M. Friedman, Kevin D. Hoover, Thomas J. Jordan, David Laidler, Allan H. Meltzer, Thomas Moser, Edward Nelson, Juan Pablo Nicolini, Charles I. Plosser, Kenneth Rogoff, Marcel Savioz, Jürgen von Hagen, Stephen Williamson

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262046916
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	03/15/2022
Pages:	504
Product dimensions:	6.31(w) x 9.31(h) x 1.38(d)

About the Author

Thomas Moser is Alternate Member of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank. Marcel Savioz is former Head of Research Coordination and Economic Education at the Swiss National Bank.

Table of Contents

Foreword Thomas J. Jordan vii

1 Introduction: Why Karl Brunner Matters Thomas Moser Marcel Savioz 1

I A Tribute to Karl Brunner

2 Karl Brunner, Scholar: An Appreciation Allan H. Meltzer 19

3 Karl Brunner and the Heritage of Monetarism Ernst Baltensperger 47

4 Intellectual Origins of the Financial Crisis Benjamin M. Friedman 65

5 A Tribute to Karl Brunner Charles I. Plosser 81

6 Rethinking Central Bank Design Kenneth Rogoff 89

II Impact on the Monetary Policy Debate

7 Karl Brunner's Monetarist Views in the Historical Context Jürgen von Hagen 129

8 Karl Brunner and UK Monetary Debate Edward Nelson 137

9 Karl Brunner and Allan Meltzer: From Monetary Policy to Monetary History to Monetary Rules Michael D. Bordo 205

10 Karl Brunner and the Konstanz Seminar Jürgen von Hagen 229

III Karl Brunner and Allan Meltzer's Monetarism

11 Promoting and Defending Monetarism: Reflections on Four Papers by Karl Brunner David Laidler 265

12 Karl Brunner's Philosophy of Science: Macroeconomics through the Lens of Logical Empiricism Kevin D. Hoover 293

13 The Pervasive Influence of Armen Alchian on Karl Brunner's Monetarism Pierrick Clerc 321

14 Brunner versus Friedman: Diverging Aspirations for the Monetarist Project Pierrick Clerc Michel De Vroey 339

15 Karl Brunner's Monetarist Revolution James Forder 355

IV Today's Legacy of Karl Brunner

16 Implications of the Permanent-Transitory Confusion for New Keynesian Modeling, Inflation Forecasts, and the Postcrisis Era Alex Cukierman 373

17 Karl Brunner's Contributions to the Theory of the Money Supply Juan Pablo Nicolini 401

18 Monetarism, New Monetarism, and the Legacy of Karl Brunner Stephen Williamson 421

V Appendix

Karl Brunner's Curriculum Vitae 445

Contributors 461

Index 463

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“This magnificent volume pays fitting tribute to Karl Brunner’s enormous intellectual legacy. Written by economists who knew Brunner well, it surveys Brunner’s many contributions, explains how he approached his work, and shows how his unique brand of monetarism helped end stagflation in the United States and United Kingdom.”
—Peter Ireland, Professor of Economics, Boston College; member of the Shadow Open Market Committee
 
“In this wide-ranging book, Karl Brunner and Monetarism, we learn why the ideas of this most influential monetarist—the first to use the term in a 1968 lecture—continue to resonate today. In beautiful essays, his long-term collaborator Allan Meltzer along with friends and collaborators Charlie Plosser, Ken Rogoff, and many others apply these ideas, draw lessons, and make current and future policy better. Yes, to borrow from the introduction by Thomas Moser and Marcel Savioz, Brunner still matters.”
—John B. Taylor, Mary and Robert Raymond Professor of Economics, Stanford University; George P. Schultz Fellow in Economics, Hoover Institution