Inflation targeting : lessons from the international experience / Ben S. Bernanke ... [and others].

Includes bibliographical references (pages [355]-365) and index.

Pt. 1. Inflation Targeting: The Issues. 1. Introduction. 2. The Rationale for Inflation Targeting. 3. Issues of Design and Implementation -- Pt. 2. Case Studies and Empirical Evidence. 4. German and Swiss Monetary Targeting: Precursors to Inflation Targeting. 5. New Zealand: Inflation-Targeting Pioneer. 6. Canada: Inflation Targets as Tools of Communication. 7. United Kingdom: The Central Bank as Counterinflationary Conscience. 8. Sweden: Searching for a Nominal Anchor. 9. Three Small Open Economies: Israel, Australia, and Spain. 10. Inflation Targeting: How Successful Has It Been? -- Pt. 3. Conclusions. 11. What Have We Learned? 12. Inflation Targeting for the United States and the European Monetary Union.

How should governments and central banks use monetary policy to create a healthy economy? Traditionally, policymakers have used such strategies as controlling the growth of the money supply or pegging the exchange rate to a stable currency. In recent years a promising new approach has emerged: publicly announcing and pursuing specific targets for the rate of inflation. This book is an in-depth study of inflation targeting.