## Lessons from History

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Lessons from History](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2023/03/book-review-lessons-from-history-conti-brown)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2023/03/book-review-lessons-from-history-conti-brown/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2023/03/book-review-lessons-from-history-conti-brown/index.json)
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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: PETER CONTI-BROWN
- Published: March 1, 2023

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### Overview
- A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States, 1961–2021 — book reviewed by PETER CONTI-BROWN in F&D Magazine, March 2023.
- The review assesses Alan Blinder’s account of monetary and fiscal policy across recent U.S. history, emphasizing implications for present policy disputes.

### Historical findings highlighted
- The world we live in was largely shaped by central bankers of the 1980s and 1990s.
- Economists empirically demonstrated the relationship between central bank independence and price stability.
- Central bankers expanded their influence beyond monetary policy to market stability, international diplomacy, pension reform, and fiscal policy.
- Two major crises of this century are identified: the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 global pandemic.
- The 2020 crisis is characterized as “perhaps the biggest fiscal-monetary collaboration since World War II.”

### Blinder’s thesis (as presented)
- Avowedly (neo-)Keynesian account in praise of technocrats and their political masters.
- Defends central bank independence and argues there are right and wrong policy answers to economic questions.
- Blinder discounts the characterization of central bankers as political actors.
- The book is written with “Blinderian parentheticals” and biographical snippets, and is “laser-focused on history’s implications for present policy disputes.”

### Review critique and analysis by the author
- The review praises Blinder’s style and his focus on history’s policy implications.
- The review’s principal critique: Blinder’s strongest weakness is his contention that central bankers are not political actors.
- The reviewer argues the reality is more complicated: technocrats often give non-partisan advice, but they are also political in practice through worldviews and value judgments.
- Example contrast: differing views on Fed policies in 2009 between Blinder and Allan Meltzer stem from distinct worldviews, not partisan labels.
- In 2023, with the Fed leading global interest rate tightening in response to record inflation, central bankers will exercise value judgments under significant uncertainty.

### Contemporary relevance and policy implications
- Central bank independence remains a critical concept tied to price stability, but its political dimensions deserve greater scrutiny.
- Policymakers and observers should:
  - Appreciate how much politics central bankers will practice when making decisions under uncertainty.
  - Recognize that technocratic advice can reflect underlying worldviews that shape policy choices.
- Blinder’s book is framed as a vital resource for navigating fiscal-monetary tensions in current and future policy debates.

### Key dates and figures preserved
- 1961–2021
- 1980s and 1990s
- 2008 financial crisis
- 2020 global pandemic
- 40 years (author Blinder’s involvement in policy)
- 2009 (debate over Fed policy)
- 2023 (Fed leading global interest rate tightening)
- World War II

*Source: Lessons from History — review by PETER CONTI-BROWN, F&D Magazine, March 2023.*

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## Content in this bundle

- **F&D March 2023: Lessons from History - Book Review**
  - [F&D March 2023: Lessons from History - Book Review (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2023/march/book-review-conti-brown.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [F&D March 2023: Lessons from History - Book Review (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2023/march/book-review-conti-brown.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2023/03/book-review-lessons-from-history-conti-brown_