Homeowners who refinanced their mortgages took out cash and reduced their monthly payments at the same time. Much of the cash obtained by refinancing was spent on consumer durables, home improvements and the like. Martin Feldstein Read Quote
The price of imported oil in the US doubled between summer 2003 and summer 2005, reducing consumers’ purchasing power by more than 1 per cent of gross domestic product. Martin Feldstein Read Quote
And finally, no matter how good the science gets, there are problems that inevitably depend on judgement, on art, on a feel for financial markets. Martin Feldstein Read Quote
First, I think the science of monetary economics has clearly gotten better. Martin Feldstein Read Quote
A second reason why science cannot replace judgement is the behavior of financial markets. Martin Feldstein Read Quote
We pay some price when necessary to bring down inflation but that price is temporary and is not large relative to the permanent gain from reduced inflation. Martin Feldstein Read Quote
Thirty years ago, many economists argued that inflation was a kind of minor inconvenience and that the cost of reducing inflation was too high a price to pay. No one would make those arguments today. Martin Feldstein Read Quote
Inflation is lower and more stable and the real business cycle fluctuations are more modest. Martin Feldstein Read Quote
I think that over the last few decades, we have seen better economic outcomes than in the past. Martin Feldstein Read Quote
