The Rise and Fall of Monetarism

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Obsessing over control of the money supply was a central idea, but has been proven mostly wrong. Despite looking good until the 1980s, the importance of monetary aggregates broke down, leading to divergence and confusion. The 2008-2009 episode saw the money supply increase without significant price inflation, causing many to discard the obsession over the money supply. However, in recent years, monetarist predictions have been accurate, suggesting the theory may hold true in some circumstances but not in others, making it less general than previously thought.

Who is the greatest economist of all time? In Tyler Cowen's eclectic view, you need both breadth and depth, macro and micro. You can't have been too wrong--and you need to be mostly right. You have to have had a lasting impact, and done both theory and empirical work. If you meet all these criteria, you may just be history's greatest economist. Listen as Cowen talks about his new and freely accessible book GOAT with EconTalk's Russ Roberts. Along the way to crowning a winner, Cowen offers original insights into what shaped the theories and worldviews of the greatest economists of all time. Cowen and Roberts also talk about the evolution of economics from a field concerned mainly with ideas to one that mostly grapples with empirical challenges.