Milton Friedman
Architect of Economic Freedom: A deep dive into the life and ideas of the Nobel laureate who reshaped economic thought and policy.
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Biography
Early Life and Education
Born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 31, 1912, Milton Friedman was the son of Jewish immigrants from Hungary. His parents, Sarah Ethel and Jenő Saul Friedman, worked diligently as dry goods merchants. Friedman's early life was marked by financial challenges, particularly after his father's death during his senior year of high school. He graduated from Rahway High School in 1928 and attended Rutgers University on a scholarship, graduating in 1932.
Public Service and Early Career
Friedman's early career included roles in government service during the New Deal era, working with agencies like the National Resources Planning Board. He contributed to wartime tax policy, notably helping to develop the payroll withholding tax system. While initially supporting some New Deal initiatives, he later critiqued price and wage controls, foreshadowing his lifelong advocacy for free markets. His work with the National Bureau of Economic Research led to seminal studies on income and consumption.
Core Economic Ideas
Monetarism
Friedman is most renowned for his work on monetarism, challenging Keynesian economics. He argued that the money supply is the primary determinant of nominal income and inflation in the long run. He advocated for a steady, predictable growth in the money supply, believing it was crucial for economic stability.
Natural Rate of Unemployment
Friedman introduced the concept of the "natural rate of unemployment," suggesting that attempts to push unemployment below this rate through expansionary policies would inevitably lead to accelerating inflation. This challenged the prevailing understanding of the Phillips curve.
Consumption and Freedom
Friedman's research on consumption analysis introduced theories like "consumption smoothing" and the "permanent income hypothesis." He argued that individuals base their spending decisions on their expected long-term income, not just their current income.
Academic and Policy Career
University of Chicago
Friedman spent three decades at the University of Chicago (1946-1977), becoming a central figure in the influential Chicago School of Economics. This intellectual environment fostered rigorous debate and produced numerous Nobel laureates, challenging prevailing Keynesian economic thought.
Advisory Roles
Friedman's influence extended beyond academia. He served as an advisor to prominent political leaders, including U.S. President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. His policy recommendations emphasizing deregulation, privatization, and reduced government spending significantly impacted economic policies globally.
Recognition and Awards
Friedman's contributions were widely recognized. He received the John Bates Clark Medal in 1951, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1976, the National Medal of Science in 1988, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1988.
Seminal Works
Capitalism and Freedom
Published in 1962, *Capitalism and Freedom* outlines Friedman's core philosophy advocating for free markets and limited government intervention. It presents a compelling case for economic freedom as a prerequisite for political freedom.
A Monetary History of the United States
Co-authored with Anna Schwartz and published in 1963, this monumental work is a cornerstone of monetarist theory. It meticulously analyzes the role of money supply in economic fluctuations, particularly the Great Depression.
Global Influence
Economic Policy Shift
Friedman's ideas played a pivotal role in the shift away from Keynesian dominance towards free-market principles in the latter half of the 20th century. His advocacy for deregulation and privatization influenced economic reforms in numerous countries.
Intellectual Leadership
As a leading figure of the Chicago School, Friedman challenged established economic orthodoxies. His rigorous empirical analysis and clear articulation of free-market principles made complex economic concepts accessible and influential.
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References
References
- https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/hong-kong-two-stage-economic-experiment
- "Capitalism and Friedman" (editorial). The Wall Street Journal. November 17, 2006.
- Milton Friedman EconLib
- Cato, "Letter from Washington," National Review, September 19, 1980, Vol. 32 Issue 19, p. 1119
- Rose and Milton Friedman. stanford.edu
- Carlin, Wendy; Soskice, David W. (2014). Macroeconomics: Institutions, instability, and the financial system. US: Oxford University Press. pp. 20â29.
- Carroll, Christopher D. (1997). "Buffer-Stock Saving and the Life Cycle/Permanent Income Hypothesis". Quarterly Journal of Economics. 112 (1): 1â55
- Beznoska, Martin; Ochmann, Richard (2012). "Liquidity Constraints and the Permanent Income Hypothesis: Pseudo Panel Estimation with German Consumption Survey Data", EconStar.
- Stafford, Frank P. (July 1974). "Permanent income, wealth, and consumption: A critique of the permanent income theory, the life cycle hypothesis, and related theories". Journal of Econometrics, pp. 195â196
- Milton Friedman. phillysoc.org
- Hamilton, Earl J. (1965). American Treasure and the Price Revolution in Spain, 1501â1650. New York: Octagon, pp. 301â302
- David Teira, "Milton Friedman, the Statistical Methodologist," History of Political Economy (2007) 39#3 pp. 511â527
- Chang, Roberto (1997) "Is Low Unemployment Inflationary?" Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. pp. 4â13.
- Friedman, M., & Schwartz, A.J. (1986). Has government any role in money?. Journal of Monetary Economics, 17(1), 37â62.
- Salter, Alexander, William. (2014). An Introduction to Monetary Policy Rules. Mercatus Workıng Paper. George Mason University.
- Marimon, R., & Sunder, S. (December 1995). "Does a constant money growth rule help stabilize inflation?: experimental evidence. In Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy (Vol. 43, pp. 111â156). North-Holland.
- Evans, G.W., & Honkapohja, S. (2003). Friedman's money supply rule vs. optimal interest rate policy". Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 50(5), 550â566.
- Simon London, "Lunch with the FT â Milton Friedman," Financial Times (June 7, 2003) "The use of quantity of money as a target has not been a success ... I'm not sure I would as of today push it as hard as I once did."
- Friedman, Milton & Rose D. Capitalism and Freedom, University of Chicago Press, 1982, p. 29
- Letter from Arnold Harberger to Stig Ramel as reprinted in The Wall Street Journal, October 12, 1976, and in Two Lucky People: Memoirs By Milton Friedman, Rose D. Friedman. Appendix A, pp. 598â599. Accessible at books.google.com
- [Two Lucky People: Memoirs By Milton Friedman, Rose D. Friedman. Appendix A, pp. 591â593. Letter from Friedman to Pinochet, April 21, 1975.]
- Colander, D. (1995). Is Milton Friedman an artist or a scientist?. Journal of Economic Methodology, 2(1), 105â122.
- Ng, Yew-Kwang. (2016). Are unrealistic Assumptions/Simplifications Acceptable? Some Methodological Issues in Economics. Pacific Economic Review, 21(2), 180â201.
- Maki, U., & Mäki, U. (Eds.). (2009). The methodology of positive economics: reflections on the Milton Friedman legacy. Cambridge University Press.
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