Whatever Happened to Monetarism?: Economic Policy-Making and Social Learning in the United Kingdom Since 1979 (Modern Economic and Social History Series)

Throughout the 1970s, the economic policy of the Conservative Party became increasingly influenced by many of the monetarist arguments emanating from the United States. After winning the General Election in May 1979, the Conservatives came to power with the intention of conducting economic policy along monetarist lines. This book examines how the demise of monetarism in the United Kingdom since 1979 can be explained through a social learning model. The study argues that the monetarist strategy was rejected for a number of reasons over the 1980s. This included the recession of the early 1980s; the rise in unemployment; the change in attitude; and the disagreements between politicians and policy-makers.