I was just perusing Steve Horwitz's JEBO article again, which I hadn't read since I got the special issue from Peter Boettke in a little Coordination Problem contest. I was reading it before more in the context of my own interest in James Buchanan's constitutional work than in the context of the rules vs. discretion debate, so I hadn't really taken notice before of this article from 1936 by Henry Simons on the same question (it's called "Rules vs. Authorities in Monetary Policy").
The discussion does go back quite a ways!
I have a lot on my plate... probably won't be high on my reading list. But I thought you all might be interested in it.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
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Speaking of Henry C. Simons, have you read Simons's review of The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money?
ReplyDeleteIf not, here it is.
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=1mLMwX27G2g498YqTEuPCLIhn913foCEdjOIShEHlGfLNZEx-8O1zefIapYfO&hl=en
Ironically, Simons (who had a problem of depression) would commit suicide due to the rise of Keynesianism, when J.M. Keynes likely would have agreed Simons a rules-based policy...
Speaking of old Chicago economists, Jacob Viner's review of Keynes in "The Critics of Keynesian Economics" is quite interesting too. He doesn't dismiss Keynes out of hand, but he points to a lot of problems.
ReplyDeleteIt’s hard to find sharp people on this topic, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks.
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