Thomas Mayer

This unique book deals with the most serious macroeconomic failure experienced in the US in the post-war period and the great inflation of the late 1960s and 1970s. It is the first detailed analysis, using Federal Reserve documents, of the thinking behind the inflationary monetary policy during this period.The book examines documentary evidence, including minutes, memos and reports and interviews with people who were closely involved in making policy decisions, to explain the monetary policy that led to this inflation. Thomas Mayer considers forecasting errors and wage and price controls in his attempt to explain why the inflation occurred and places some of the blame on ineffective operating procedures, institutional inefficiencies, and political pressures on the Federal Reserve. The author concludes that much of the responsibility for the mistaken policies lies with academic economists who underestimated the dangers of inflation and encouraged the Federal Reserve to focus on an unattainable employment goal.Monetary Policy and the Great Inflation in the United States will be welcomed by economists, political scientists and economic historians interested in monetary policy

Doing Economic Research brings together a series of authoritative and illuminating essays by Thomas Mayer which bridge the gap between the abstract work of methodology and the practical research problems that concern the professional economist. Arguing that methodologists should pay more attention to the day-to-day problems that face practising economists, Professor Mayer illustrates how simple methodological considerations can clarify a series of issues in applied economics. In particular, he offers a defence of positivism in economics and counters the argument that economics is not an empirical science. Specific essays reassess debates about microfoundations and Ricardian equivalence, consider whether assumptions should be realistic, question whether recent improvements in techniques have helped to resolve the monetarist debate, discuss the role of consumer theory and deal with some key issues in econometric practice.Doing Economic Research differs from other work on economic methodology by focusing on specific issues of concern to applied economists, such as whether the failure of consumer choice theory on experimental tests matters. Applied economists and methodologists will welcome the book's direct, down-to-earth manner and the way in which Professor Mayer's ideas are applied to contemporary economic research.

This engaging and intelligent book provides an accessible, down to earth assessment of the role of formalism and rigour in economics.Professor Mayer argues that there is room in economics for both highly formalised theory and for the less formal theory that predominates in the natural sciences. But economists generally fail to distinguish between these two types of theory. As a result, they often act as if the strength of an argument depends on the strength of its strongest link. They misallocate effort, polishing those parts of the argument that tend to be formalised, while paying insufficient attention to the others. Drawing on public choice theory, Mayer shows how this emphasis on the strongest link has distorted research particularly in new classical theory. He advocates stricter econometric testing, showing that many procedures currently used are only soft tests.

This engaging and intelligent book provides an accessible, down to earth assessment of the role of formalism and rigour in economics.Professor Mayer argues that there is room in economics for both highly formalised theory and for the less formal theory that predominates in the natural sciences. But economists generally fail to distinguish between these two types of theory. As a result, they often act as if the strength of an argument depends on the strength of its strongest link. They misallocate effort, polishing those parts of the argument that tend to be formalised, while paying insufficient attention to the others. Drawing on public choice theory, Mayer shows how this emphasis on the strongest link has distorted research particularly in new classical theory. He advocates stricter econometric testing, showing that many procedures currently used are only soft tests.

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