Indexing, Inflation, and Economic Policy

by Stanley Fischer

Mainstream macroeconomics is under attack, professionally and in the popular press, as rarely before. Stanley Fischer has brought together this collection of essays in support of the view that mainstream macroeconomics can contribute much that it is both scientifically and socially useful to the analysis of policy issues and controversies. The book is divided into four parts, each with its own introduction. The preface presents Fischer's methodological defense of macroeconomics.

The essays The Costs and Effects of Toward an Understanding of the Real Effects and Costs of Inflation (with Franko Modigliani). Toward an Understanding of the Costs of II. Inflation, Unemployment, and Public Opinion Polls (with John Huizinga). Relative Shocks, Relative Price Variability, and Inflation. Wage Indexation and Wage Indexation and Macroeconomic Stability. Indexing and Inflation. Contracts, Credibility, and Disinflation. Exchange Rate versus Money Targets in Disinflation. Indexation in the Capital The Demand for Index Bonds. On the Nonexistence of Privately issued index Bonds in the U.S. Capital Market. Call Option Pricing When the Exercise Price Is Uncertain, and the Valuation of Index Bonds. Welfare Aspects of Government Issue of Indexed Bonds. Policy Long-Term Contracts, Rational Expectations, and the Optional Money Supply Rule. Seigniorage and the Case for a National Money. On Activist Monetary Policy with Rational Expectations. Dynamic Inconsistency, Cooperation, and the Benevolent Dissembling Government. Israeli Inflation and Indexation.

Stanley Fischer is Professor of Economics at MIT and coauthor with Rudiger Dornbusch of Economics and Macroeconomics .

502 pages, Hardcover

First published April 14, 1986

About the author

Stanley Fischer was an American and Israeli economist who served as the 20th vice chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2017. Fischer previously served as the 8th governor of the Bank of Israel from 2005 to 2013. Born in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), he held dual citizenship in Israel and the United States. He previously served as First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund and as Chief Economist of the World Bank. On January 10, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Fischer to the position of Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve. On September 6, 2017, Fischer announced that he was resigning as vice-chair for personal reasons effective October 13, 2017. He was a senior advisor at BlackRock.