Abstract
The 2% inflation standard emerged from the turmoil of the monetary inflation shock in the late 1980s featuring both virulent asset inflation and high goods inflation. The intellectual underpinnings stemmed from neo-Keynesian doctrine, with Stanley Fischer as a key architect and promotor. The US joined the standard in stages starting with a key FOMC meeting under Chair Greenspan in 1996 at which Governor Yellen presented the pro-case. An effective opposition to 2% did not form, and the arguments against in the contemporary literature missed the big point—targeting 2% when the natural rhythm of prices is downwards in line with digitalization and globalization would fuel economically devastating asset price booms and busts.
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Brown, B. (2018). Origins of the Global 2% Inflation Standard. In: The Case Against 2 Per Cent Inflation. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89357-0_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89357-0_2
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