Once again, the Federal Reserve is under attack from lawmakers who propose measures designed to increase the accountability of monetary policymakers while preserving the independence of the institution. Legislation that is currently the subject of debate on Capitol Hill would either remove the...

For the third time in the last dozen years, the Mexican economy is in financial distress largely because of bad monetary policies pursued by Mexican officials. The U.S. response in all three instances has been to extend loans from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury. These loans provide a...

The Enron debacle has produced an out-pouring of soul-searching by Congress and the media about the state of corporate governance and remedies for perceived ills. While this dithering continues, corporate boards and CEOs as well as their accountants and lawyers already are reacting to pressures...

?We are in danger of assigning to monetary policy a larger role than it can perform, in danger of asking it to accomplish tasks that it cannot achieve, and, as a result, in danger of preventing it from making the contribution that it is capable of making.? Milton Friedman, 1968 At the time...

Much of this paper was presented at the Cato Institute conference on Monetary Policy in the New Economy, October 19, 2000, Washington, D.C.

Last month marked the eleventh year of the Greenspan Fed. During this period, the Fed has achieved low inflation rates not seen since the decade before the Vietnam War. This relatively stable and low inflation environment enabled the economy to expand and unemployment rates to decline, with only...