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The cat and the fish – the complicated relationship between governments and central banks
The concept of central bank independence and tensions between fiscal policy and monetary policy are explored in a book by former Federal Reserve vice-chair Alan Blinder.
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Fiscal policies can be tailored to favour the rich or the poor, and US history holds examples of each.
PHOTO: AFP
When writing his new book, Princeton University economics professor and former US Federal Reserve vice-chair Alan Blinder was asked repeatedly by publishers: What was his punchline? Did he have a 90-second elevator pitch?
As the work progressed, the answer became obvious: There was no convenient capsule summary of over half a century of monetary and fiscal history.
