Research
BPEA | 1978 No. 1Stabilization Policy and Private Economic Behavior
Discussants:
Benjamin M. Friedman and
Benjamin M. Friedman
Harvard University
Edmund S. Phelps
Edmund S. Phelps
Columbia University
Benjamin M. Friedman
Harvard University
Edmund S. Phelps
Columbia University
1978, No. 1
WILL THE initiation of active macroeconomic stabilization policies change the behavior of the private sector? If so, what will these changes be? And what are their implications for the design and effectiveness of stabilization policy? I will use two ways of searching for answers to these questions. The first is empirical. It involves looking at recent history and trying to discern relevant signs or patterns. The aim is to describe how the private sector has responded to cyclical fluctuations and how these responses have changed over time.