Published
May 21, 2024Page count
240 pagesISBN
978-1447371359Dimensions
216 x 140 mmImprint
Policy PressPublished
May 21, 2024Page count
240 pagesISBN
978-1447371373Dimensions
216 x 140 mmImprint
Policy PressPublished
May 21, 2024Page count
240 pagesISBN
978-1447371373Dimensions
216 x 140 mmImprint
Policy Press
Inside Thatcher’s Monetarism Experiment
In 1979, Margaret Thatcher’s new government was faced with rampant double-digit inflation, rising unemployment and flatlining economic growth. In response, Thatcher pursued an economic policy which rejected the old orthodoxies and was promoted by only a minority of economists: a policy based on the doctrine of monetarism.
Tim Lankester was the private secretary for economic affairs to Thatcher during the early years of her government. His insider’s account explains her attitudes and decisions and those of the other main players in this deeply damaging experiment in economic policy making, which promised much but completely failed to deliver.
Offering fascinating insights into one of the most unsuccessful episodes of British economic history, he also examines the legacy of monetarism for the economy today.
“A self-lacerating account of the British monetarist experiment by a man of stern principle, Lankester paints a surprisingly sympathetic picture of the lady herself and vividly illustrates how top civil servants approached their jobs, in difficult times – for good or ill.” Rachel Lomax, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England
“Lankester is uniquely well-placed to tell the inside story of Thatcher's monetarist policies. And what a fascinating and well-told story!” Charles Goodhart, Emeritus Professor, London School of Economics and Political Science
“A unique contribution from an impartial Treasury official who witnessed some of the most politically charged debates of the Thatcher era from within Number 10.” Duncan Needham, Director of the Centre for Financial History, University of Cambridge
“An intriguing read. It explains from inside Number 10 how a simplistic economic theory that chimed with her ideology – monetarism – captured Thatcher’s imagination and how pursuing it inflicted long-lasting damage on the fabric of the British economy.” Wendy Carlin, University College London
“Steers the reader through a fascinating insider’s account of Thatcher’s approach to monetary policy and why she got some things wrong." Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for Social and Economic Progress and former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India
Tim Lankester was Margaret Thatcher’s first private secretary for economic affairs. He subsequently held senior positions at HM Treasury, the IMF, World Bank, Overseas Development Administration, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He is author of The Politics and Economics of Britain’s Foreign Aid: The Pergau Dam Affair (2013).
1. Introduction
2. A view from Number 10
3. Keynes and Friedman
4. The monetarists’ challenge
5. Labour and soft monetarism
6. Mrs Thatcher and hard monetarism
7. Monetarism’s high noon
8. Ending the experiment
9. Counting the cost
10. Mrs Thatcher and the trade unions
11. The quest for an alternative anchor
12. The monetarists and the critics look back
13. The legacy
14. The return to stagflation?
15. Epilogue
