Featuring Anna J. Schwartz, Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research; Allan H. Meltzer, Visiting Scholar, American Enterprise Institute; William Poole, President, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; and Laurence H. Meyer, Distinguished Scholar, Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz’s A Monetary History of the United States1867–1960 is perhaps the most influential work in economic history of the 20th century. The book, a perfect combination of historical narrative, empirical work, and theoretical analysis, was the major force in refocusing the economics profession’s thinking about the importance of money in generating cyclical fluctuations. It also showed how the severity of the Great Depression was in large part due to the mistakes of the Federal Reserve. Please join one of the authors and three leading monetary economists for a discussion of the influence of this important work on monetary policy research and the conduct of monetary policy on the 40th anniversary of its publication.