The Brookings Institution is committed to quality, independence, and impact.
We are supported by a diverse array of funders. In line with our values and policies, each Brookings publication represents the sole views of its author(s).
2025
Research
BPEA | 1981 No. 11981, No. 1
THIS ISSUE of Brookings Papers on Economic Activity contains articles
and reports presented at the thirty-first conference of the Brookings Panel
on Economic Activity, which was held in Washington, D.C., on April 9
and 10, 1981. Four articles address economic issues of current importance:
the causes of the slowdown in productivity growth, the impacts of
various proposals for tax reform on investment and the stock market,
financial innovations and their implications for monetary policy, and the
importance of oil prices and other economic developments on current account
balances and exchange rates. Two shorter reports examine the
problems with traditional mortgages and retirement annuities in a period
of inflation, and the characteristics of price expectations by business during the
1970s.