Introduction

In this chapter, four historical Moments are singled out in the post-war period, to help put the emergence of the NMC into perspective. After briefly describing the ineffectiveness of monetary policy throughout the 1950 and 1960s, we look into the 1970s, a chaotic decade in which monetary policy was temporarily defeated by the inflation spectre. Then, we discuss the monetarist experiment, with a focus on the UK. Finally, we present the transitional period towards the NMC with the pioneering inflation-targeting experiment conducted in New Zealand from 1989 onwards. The pivotal role of the Maastricht treaty and the influence of supply-side economics on the birth of the NMC are discussed, before finally phrasing the theme of the book.