Transparent Monetary Policy and Economic Stability

According to some economic commentators, the key for economic stability is that the central bank should state clearly the likely course of the monetary policy ahead. In this way of thinking, expected monetary policy is a factor of stability while unexpected policy sets shocks and instability. The transparency framework is based on the ideas of the Chicago School economists Milton Friedman and Robert Lucas.

When a Chicken Isn’t Just a Chicken

A man stands at a farmers market stall. His wife is talking to the farmer. He picks up a chicken. Paper-wrapped, no barcode, a handwritten tag on the twine. He holds it close to read the label and sets it back down fast. The price is an insult. What are these people thinking?

A minute later, another man reaches for the same bird, reads the same label, and smiles. What a deal.

Roger E. Bissell is a professional musician and independent scholar living in Dickson, Tennessee.