Chris Dillow — What Phillips Curve?

A more benign possibility is that such thinking is a way of smuggling demand management into monetary policy. The belief (or statement!) that a big output gap would reduce inflation allowed the Bank to slash rates in 2008-09. In truth, the claim "bugger inflation: let's try and save the economy" would have done just as well, but waffle about spare capacity allowed the Bank to appear to reconcile demand management with inflation targeting.

There is, though, a nastier possibility which Michal Kalecki famously pointed out - that the possibility of fuller employment makes many capitalists rather jumpy. But then, Kalecki can't possibly have been right, can he?

Stumbling and Mumbling
What Phillips Curve?
Chris Dillow | Investors Chronicle