Carola Binder on the History of Inflation, the Fed Framework Review, and the Promise of Nominal GDP Targeting

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Carola Binder is an associate professor of civic leadership and economics at the University of Texas at Austin, and she is the author of a new book titled, *Shock Values: Prices and Inflation in American Democracy.* Carola is also a returning guest to the podcast, and she rejoins David on Macro Musings to talk about this book and some recent work she has done on the Fed’s framework review. David and Carola specifically discuss the history of inflation in the US, the advantages of adopting a nominal GDP targeting regime, what to expect from the Fed’s upcoming framework review, and more.

Transcript for this week’s episode.

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Related Links:

*Shock Values: Prices and Inflation in American Democracy* by Carola Binder

*Why Do We Dislike Inflation?* by Stefanie Stantcheva

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:03:42) – *Nominal GDP Targeting: Lessons from Recent History*

(00:12:18) – NGDP Level Targeting: Looking Through Supply Shocks and Policy Communication

(00:17:16) – *Shock Values: Prices and Inflation in American Democracy*

(00:21:44) – The History of Inflation and Deflation in the US

(00:30:30) – Key Lessons from the Revolutionary War and Civil War Periods

(00:35:37) – The Impact of Price Controls During World War II

(00:40:42) – The Emergence of Price Stability: From the Great Inflation Period to the Present

(00:46:24) – The Direction of the Fed’s Framework Review

(00:49:22) – Outro