This paper examines what we have learned and how we should change our thinking about monetary policy strategy in the aftermath of the 2007-2009 financial crisis. It starts with a discussion of where the science of monetary policy was before the crisis and how central banks viewed monetary policy...

This paper examines what transformed a significant, but relatively mild, financial disruption into a full-fledged financial crisis. It discusses why, although the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy was a key trigger for the global financial crisis, three other events were at least as important: the AIG...

The paper argues that many of the exaggerated claims that globalization has been an important factor in lowering inflation in recent years just do not hold up. Globalization does, however, have the potential to be stabilizing for individual economies and has been a key factor in promoting...

This paper, which is the introductory chapter in my book, "Monetary Policy Strategy", forthcoming from MIT Press, outlines how thinking in academia and central banks about monetary policy strategy has evolved over time. It shows that six ideas that are now accepted by monetary authorities and...

This paper outlines what problems asymmetric information creates for the financial system and shows and shows that the presence of asymmetric information explains why banks are so important. The paper then goes on to explain why prudential supervision of these institutions is needed, and what...

This paper examines the international experiences with four basic types of monetary policy regimes: 1) exchange-rate targeting, 2) monetary targeting, 3) inflation targeting, and 4) monetary policy with an implicit but not an explicit nominal anchor. The basic theme that emerges from this...

This paper examines what strategies policymakers have used to both reduce and control inflation. It first outlines why a consensus has emerged that inflation needs to be controlled. Then it examines four basic strategies: exchange rate pegging, monetary targeting, inflation targeting, and the...

In recent years the possibility of an international financial crisis has increased because of greater liquidity of international financial markets, an increase in corporate indebtedness and the decline of the banking industry. Using an asymmetric information analysis, this paper outlines what...

This paper examines the nature of financial crises from a historical perspective using the new and burgeoning literature on asymmetric information and financial structure. After describing how this literature helps to understand the nature of financial crises, the paper focuses on a historical...