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THE 364 ECONOMISTS AND THE 1981 BUDGET: AN EXAMINATION OF THE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
Author(s) -
Congdon Tim
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
economic affairs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.24
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 1468-0270
pISSN - 0265-0665
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0270.2006.00666.x
Subject(s) - argument (complex analysis) , economics , government (linguistics) , monetary policy , macroeconomics , empirical evidence , positive economics , keynesian economics , economic history , monetary economics , philosophy , biochemistry , chemistry , linguistics , epistemology
Earlier this year we passed the 25th anniversary of the letter to The Times from 364 economists protesting about government economic policy in general and the 1981 Budget in particular. In a recent publication, Stephen Nickell, then a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England, defended the letter. This article contends that Nickell's argument was wrong. This is not merely a matter of historical interest, it is important that the issues are understood if mistakes are not to be made in economic policy in the future.