Economic Events, Ideas, and Policies: The 1960s and After - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0815770111 ISBN 13: 9780815770114

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press, 2000

Synopsis

In November 1999 the Brookings Institution and Yale University jointly sponsored a conference to reconsider the national economic policies of the 1960s and the theories that influenced them, in light of subsequent events in the economy and of developments in economic theory and research. This volume contains the papers and comments of the participants. The 1960s were years of difficult challenges to U.S. policymakers and of important initiatives to meet them. The economic doldrums at the start of the decade gave way to strong expansion and prosperity, which, however, ended with excessive inflation. The decade that followed was the most turbulent of the postwar period, with global shock waves from oil prices, two deep recessions, and historic changes in the international financial system. Both policymaking and economic thinking have evolved since the 1960s. The papers gathered in this volume examine the economics of the 1960s as the starting point in this evolution.Several of the contributors to this volume were involved in policymaking in the 1960s. Their papers provide firsthand insights to the analyses and priorities of that period and a prelude to examination of subsequent ideas and policies. Younger scholars represented in the volume bring different perspectives. All participants have been active in economic research since the 1960s; collectively they represent a wide range of expertise in economic analysis.This volume is dedicated to the memory of Arthur Okun, a major figure in economics and economic policy throughout the Kennedy-Johnson era, at Yale, at the Council on Economic Advisers, and at Brookings. He served as chairman of the council and chief economic adviser to President Johnson. At Brookings, he and George Perry founded the Brookings Panel on Economic Activity and its journal, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity.

About this title

About the Author:

George L. Perry is a senior fellow in the Economic Studies program at the Brookings Institution. James Tobin is Sterling Professor of Economics Emeritus at Yale University and a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economic Science. He is author or editor of numerous book and articles.

Review:

"The papers are thoughtful, well written, and informed by a deep and comprehensive understanding of the topic.... The distinguished discussants highlight what they perceive to be the strengths and weaknesses of their particular topics. The reader is treated to a synopsis of a generation of American economics by some of those who formulated and applied it." —R.T. Averitt, Smith College, Choice, vol. 38, no. 7, 3/1/2001

About this edition

• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0815770111
• ISBN 13: 9780815770114
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 379
• Editor: Perry George L., Tobin James