Other people's money : economic essays

Abstract

These essays on the broad theme of monetary policy were written between 1949 and 1968 when the author was Governor of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and later of the Reserve Bank of Australia. They record the changing patterns of thought in central banking policy during the time - a time of shifting emphasis in the theoretical concepts influencing economic analyses. To a large degree during that time it was necessary to rely on intuitive judgment about the factors at work within the economy As the author put it, 'we seem{u2026} to have always been forced to make the bricks of decision while struggling to gather the straw of understanding'. This book has both a contemporary and a historical value. Many of the problems discussed in it and with us still - inflation, the balance of payments, overseas investment - had their genesis in earlier events and are matters of signifcance to all concerned about the Australian economy today. Show more