Publisher's Synopsis
After winning the General Election in May 1979, the Conservative Party came to power with the intention of conducting economic policy along monetarist lines. This book argues that the monetarist strategy was rejected for seveal reasons over the 1980s, including the recession early in the decade; the change in attitude to the role of the exchange rate and disagreements between politicians and policymakers. It is shown that the disputes between Chancellor Nigel Lawson, Lady Thatcher and her economic adviser, Sir Alan Walters, are central in explaining why macroeconomic policymaking evolved considerably from the mid-1980s. - - The book is the first attempt by an economic historian to apply a social learning model to the post-1979 period. By adopting this approach, the book will add to the debate on the conduct of economic policy since 1979 and contribute to the growing interest in social learning amongst social scientists.
