Monetarism was one of the most influential economic theories of the last half-century.
After the rampant inflation of the 1970s, a group of politicians took power in the US and UK committed to sweeping aside the Keynesian consensus of the post-war period and replacing it with something new - the control of the money supply.
It was a bold experiment - the results of which are still being debated today.
'Gaining Currency: The Rise and Fall of Monetarism' is the definitive inside account of that fascinating period. David Smith examines the personalities who made it happen - President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the economist Milton Friedman and the ministers Sir Keith Joseph and Denis Healey - as well as the political in-fighting that led to a remarkable but short-lived triumph for monetarist theory and policy.
And he examines the legacy of the experiment.
To its critics, monetarism led to closed factories, hollowed-out industries, and a lost generation of jobless. But for others it tamed inflation, allowed the market to do its work, and prepared the ground for the renewed prosperity of the 1990s.
'Gaining Currency' is the book that will enable you to make up your own mind. It is a work that no student of economics or anyone interested in the political debate of the last half-century can afford to miss.
“I recommend David Smith’s insightful The Rise and Fall of Monetarism,” - Dominic Sandbrook, best-selling author of 'Seasons in the Sun: The Battle for Britain, 1974-1979.'
David Smith is economics editor and columnist for The Sunday Times. His books include 'Free Lunch - Easily Digestible Economics' and 'The Age of Instability'. He lives in London.
Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.
After the rampant inflation of the 1970s, a group of politicians took power in the US and UK committed to sweeping aside the Keynesian consensus of the post-war period and replacing it with something new - the control of the money supply.
It was a bold experiment - the results of which are still being debated today.
'Gaining Currency: The Rise and Fall of Monetarism' is the definitive inside account of that fascinating period. David Smith examines the personalities who made it happen - President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the economist Milton Friedman and the ministers Sir Keith Joseph and Denis Healey - as well as the political in-fighting that led to a remarkable but short-lived triumph for monetarist theory and policy.
And he examines the legacy of the experiment.
To its critics, monetarism led to closed factories, hollowed-out industries, and a lost generation of jobless. But for others it tamed inflation, allowed the market to do its work, and prepared the ground for the renewed prosperity of the 1990s.
'Gaining Currency' is the book that will enable you to make up your own mind. It is a work that no student of economics or anyone interested in the political debate of the last half-century can afford to miss.
“I recommend David Smith’s insightful The Rise and Fall of Monetarism,” - Dominic Sandbrook, best-selling author of 'Seasons in the Sun: The Battle for Britain, 1974-1979.'
David Smith is economics editor and columnist for The Sunday Times. His books include 'Free Lunch - Easily Digestible Economics' and 'The Age of Instability'. He lives in London.
Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.
