BURTON G. MALKIEL Chemical Bank Chairman's Professor of Economics Princeton University Central bankers have often believed that they are the Rodney Dangerfields of public officials-they seldom receive respect from the public or from elected officials. Particularly in the days of high infla tion and substantial unemployment, they were held responsible for everything that ailed the world's economies. And monetarists often suggested that nations would be far better off if central bankers were replaced by robots who would do nothing more than ensure that the money supply was increased at a fixed...

BURTON G. MALKIEL Chemical Bank Chairman's Professor of Economics Princeton University Central bankers have often believed that they are the Rodney Dangerfields of public officials-they seldom receive respect from the public or from elected officials. Particularly in the days of high infla tion and substantial unemployment, they were held responsible for everything that ailed the world's economies. And monetarists often suggested that nations would be far better off if central bankers were replaced by robots who would do nothing more than ensure that the money supply was increased at a fixed...