A history and analysis of the debate about whether monetary policy should be conducted by rules known in advance to all or by policymaker discretion.

An examination of recent changes in the statistical properties of alternative measures of core inflation, identifying statistically significant change points in the fixed mean and finding that for all measures considered, changes in the inflation rate trend have been infrequent and, for the most...

A presentation of some tentative evidence that MZM, an alternative money measure comprising all instruments payable at par on demand, has exhibited a fairly stable relationship with nominal GDP and with its own opportunity cost in recent years, suggesting a potential role for policy.

An examination of the short- and long-term implications of an inflation policy on real output, using a method that allows structural interpretation of a simple VAR applied to a macroeconomic system that includes real output and inflation.

A review of the literature concerning how individuals learn to form rational expectations and a discussion of the meaning of rationality in a macroeconomy characterized by highly decentralized markets.

An analysis of the determination of foreign investment in U.S. financial markets and suggestions for reducing dependence on foreign savings inflow.

An examination of the federal deficit and a discussion of how an increasing debt burden could cause a serious threat to long-term U.S. economic growth.

A discussion of the unanticipated weakness in the M2 monetary aggregate in recent years, suggesting that the shortfall may be largely attributable to the restructuring of the thrift industry, and an explanation of why economic models predicting M2 growth have had difficulty tracking this weakness.

A look at the recent acceleration in M2, examining evidence that its velocity has stabilized around a new trend, analyzing the usefulness of money in monetary policy deliberations, and highlighting some of the pitfalls of ignoring money growth.

The dividend yield on stocks has dropped sharply over the last decade. Is its drop a consequence of irrational exuberance? This Commentary assesses alternative explanations for the diminished dividend yield.