The course of the economy this year may have detoured slightly, but has not been derailed by the crisis in Middle Eastern deserts. The U.S. economy was already flirting with recession before Iraq invaded Kuwait. The short-run effects of the invasion create the worst of all worlds from the...

Adopting a restrictive policy to reduce inflation and being willing to stick with it even in a long and deep recession is not evidence that it will be successful. The test of whether a long-run anti-inflation policy will be maintained does not occur until the subsequent expansion gets underway....