It is commonly believed that the Federal Reserve targeted money growth directly and allowed greater variation in interest rates during the October 1979-October 1982 period. Other things the same, this policy regime would be expected to increase the risk premium on the dollar exchange rate...

Conventional investigations of the "best" intermediate target variable for monetary policy have used a single criterion: the best fit between the behavior of an aggregate and that of some goal variable such as nominal spending or the aggregate price level. Ignored in this type of study, however,...

This brief essay is a working draft of an article in preparation for the forthcoming International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2nd ed., examining the role of the monetary base in monetary economics and monetary policymaking. Comments are welcome.