Neoliberal economists’ monetary preferences tracked their birth decade and formative experiences

Evidence

How can we explain the depth of feeling inspired by the monetary issue? The question of generational differences offers some clues. Looking at age cohorts, one finds that the gold standard was promoted primarily by economists born before 1900, who had experienced not only the functioning classical gold standard but, more importantly, the catastrophic experiences with floating exchange rates in the 1920s, and who had been socialized before Keynesianism began to shape the discipline of economics. Economists born in the first decade of the twentieth century constitute a saddle group, advocating the gold standard until the 1950s or early 1960s before shifting to flexible exchange rates. Younger economists born after 1910 and socialized during the height of Keynesianism and interventionism tended to promote floating rates almost exclusively, which they regarded as more realistic in the face of prevailing circumstances. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 437

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader theme in this collection about internal variety and generationally-determined doctrine within the MPS — reinforcing the fracturing-the-caricature purpose. — connects to: Reagan-era appointments turned the Fed into a channel for neoliberalizing economics — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 529; Neoliberalism was internally divided over monetary policy for decades — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 410; Central bank independence doctrine advanced economists’ professional self-interest as much as monetary policy — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 477 (+1 more)