The author has been described by News Ltd as an "iconoclast", "Svengali", a pollie's "economist muse", and "pungently accurate". Fairfax says he is a "Renaissance man" and "one of Australia’s most respected analysts." Stephen Koukoulas concludes that he is "85% right", and "would make a great Opposition leader." Terry McCrann claims the author thinks "‘nuance’ is a trendy village in the south of France", but can be "scintillating" when he thinks "clearly". The ACTU reckons he’s "an enigma wrapped in a Bloomberg terminal, wrapped in some apparently well-honed abs."

Friday, March 9, 2012

Does the RBA have a dual mandate?

Phil Lowe comments in a recent speech:

"The second observation is that the main role for monetary policy is to keep inflation low and stable. The current list of economic uncertainties is long enough without adding uncertainty about the general level of prices to the list. The task for monetary policy is to ensure stability in the overall economy so that difficult decisions at the firm and industry level are not further complicated by macroeconomic instability."
at 11:38 AM