The empirical test of the New Keynesian Phillips curve is often implemented by estimating a hybrid specification that includes both lagged and future inflation and then by examining whether the estimated coefficient on future inflation is significantly larger than the one on lagged inflation....

The period 1979-86 saw (1) high interest rates, (2) volatile money growth, and (3) new Fed operating procedures. Was the third item the chief cause of the other two? Probably not. For much of the increased monetary volatility stemmed not from the new procedures but rather from the public’s...