Inflation Targeting (Hardcover)

by Ben Bernanke (Author), Thomas Laubach (Author), Frederic S. Mishkin (Author), Adam S. Posen (Author) "AT THE END of the twentieth century, with communism largely gone and with state-dominated strategies being replaced everywhere by market-oriented reforms, there is a consensus..." (more)
Key Phrases: target adoption, bank bill rate, inflation targeters, New Zealand, Reserve Bank, Bank of Canada (more...)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (November 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691059551
• ISBN-13: 978-0691059556
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,568,667 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Heavy on the case studies and mildly repetitive., September 21, 1999

By A Customer

An easy to read book for people of all levels. It takes the reader through case studies on the various countries which have introduced inflation targeting. This is interesting from a historical perspective, but since inflation targeting really is a very simple concept (announce an inflation target, describe why you aim to hit this target, make it clear how you shall go about achieving this target and at all times be transparent in your pursuit of that target) the book tends to be repetitive. This book simply goes over too many similar regimes and thus cannot help but cover the same points over again. The last chapter is a study of the U.S. (a rare example of a country with very steady inflation which has not introduced an explicit inflation target) with some recommendations on how (and why) it should implement an inflation target. This book is recommended if you want very indepth case studies on the introduction of inflation targeting in countries as different as Sweden, New Zealand, The U.K. and Australia, but if you only need a quick overview of what inflation targeting is then buy a good general Economics textbook and read the section on it.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Yawn, January 13, 2000

By A Customer

I have never been a fan of condensed books for the obvious reason that they leave out content and motivation. This book, however, could be shrunk by 3/4 without any real loss. Yes, there is much in-depth case study information here, but the paper could have been much better used by substituting much of it for some harder, theoretical motivation and analytical discussions. The authors are capable of this. Also, despite the painstaking redundent detail and a few regressions, for me the authors fail to place inflation targeting and inflation targeting countries into the greater context of inflationary policies and countries facing inflation. It surprises me that there is no mention of some of the, especially developing countries, where inflation has been a serious problem and where most battles of the future are likely to be fought.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fair, March 30, 2006

By	gominers - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inflation Targeting: Lessons from the International Experience (Paperback)

This book is designed essentially all audiences, i.e., it could an easy read for undergraduate economic students. The book, while somewhat repetitive, is a good 'read' especially as one of the authors is now the Chairman of the Federal Reserve who advocates inflation targeting.

The prior reviewer was unhappy that developing countries' central bank experiences were not included in the book. I am afraid that would have made for an unweildy book given that the focus is on credible inflation targeting regimes with a 'track record' - not countries who are in need of such a regime. Such a discussion can be found in other books. It is not a coincidence that the authors focused on developed countries - that is their interest and specialty.

The focus is not on policy prescriptions per se but what has and has not been effective. This is not an IMF prescription manual for a developing country. The countries studied underwent shocks but their relative stability leads to a more certain analysis.