Inflation Targeting : Lessons from the International Experience

Rating:
Summary: Heavy on the case studies and mildly repetitive.
Review: An easy to read book for people of all levels. It takes the reader through case studies on the various countries which have introduced inflation targeting. This is interesting from a historical perspective, but since inflation targeting really is a very simple concept (announce an inflation target, describe why you aim to hit this target, make it clear how you shall go about achieving this target and at all times be transparent in your pursuit of that target) the book tends to be repetitive. This book simply goes over too many similar regimes and thus cannot help but cover the same points over again. The last chapter is a study of the U.S. (a rare example of a country with very steady inflation which has not introduced an explicit inflation target) with some recommendations on how (and why) it should implement an inflation target. This book is recommended if you want very indepth case studies on the introduction of inflation targeting in countries as different as Sweden, New Zealand, The U.K. and Australia, but if you only need a quick overview of what inflation targeting is then buy a good general Economics textbook and read the section on it.

Rating:
Summary: Yawn
Review: I have never been a fan of condensed books for the obvious reason that they leave out content and motivation. This book, however, could be shrunk by 3/4 without any real loss. Yes, there is much in-depth case study information here, but the paper could have been much better used by substituting much of it for some harder, theoretical motivation and analytical discussions. The authors are capable of this. Also, despite the painstaking redundent detail and a few regressions, for me the authors fail to place inflation targeting and inflation targeting countries into the greater context of inflationary policies and countries facing inflation. It surprises me that there is no mention of some of the, especially developing countries, where inflation has been a serious problem and where most battles of the future are likely to be fought.