Search for other papers by International Monetary Fund in
Current site
Google Scholar
Abstract
The process of German economic, monetary, and social union (GEMSU) raises many questions about the role for economic policy, both in influencing the overall degree of resource use in the economy and in pursuing an efficient allocation of resources. This chapter analyzes these questions against the background of past experience with economic policy in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). Three major periods of economic policymaking can be distinguished in the FRG: from 1948 until about the mid-1960s, a period of strongly market-oriented policies associated with Ludwig Erhard; from the mid- 1960s to perhaps the early 1980s, a period of Keynesian policies associated with Karl Schiller; and, since the early 1980s, a revival of Erhardian ideas.1
International Monetary Fund Copyright © 2010-2025. All Rights Reserved.