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The political economy of wage and price controls: evidence from the Nixon tapes

Author

Listed:
  • Burton A. Abrams

    (Department of Economics, University of Delaware)

  • James L. Butkiewicz

    (Department of Economics, University of Delaware)

Abstract
In late July, 1971, Nixon reiterated his adamant opposition to wage and price controls calling them a scheme to socialize America. Yet, less than a month later, in a stunning reversal, he imposed the first and only peacetime wage and price controls in U.S. history. The Nixon tapes, personal tape recordings made during the presidency of Richard Nixon, provide a unique body of evidence to investigate the motivations for Nixon’s stunning reversal. We uncover and report in this paper evidence that Nixon manipulated his New Economic Policy to help secure his reelection victory in 1972. He became convinced that wage and price controls were necessary to grab the headlines away from the defeatist abandonment of the Breton Woods Agreement and the closing of the U.S. gold window. Nixon understood the impact of his wage and price controls, but chose to trade off longer-term economic costs to the economy for his own short-term political gain.

Suggested Citation

  • Burton A. Abrams & James L. Butkiewicz, 2016. "The political economy of wage and price controls: evidence from the Nixon tapes," Working Papers 16-08, University of Delaware, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:dlw:wpaper:16-08
    as

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    File URL: http://www.lerner.udel.edu/sites/default/files/ECON/PDFs/RePEc/dlw/WorkingPapers/2016/UDWP2016-08.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Burton A. Abrams & James L. Butkiewicz, 2012. "The Political Business Cycle: New Evidence from the Nixon Tapes," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44(2‐3), pages 385-399, March.
    2. Alberto Alesina & Nouriel Roubini & Gerald D. Cohen, 1997. "Political Cycles and the Macroeconomy," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262510944, April.
    3. Burton A. Abrams, 2006. "How Richard Nixon Pressured Arthur Burns: Evidence from the Nixon Tapes," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(4), pages 177-188, Fall.
    4. William D. Nordhaus, 1975. "The Political Business Cycle," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 42(2), pages 169-190.
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    Cited by:

    1. Alexandre Chirat & Basile Clerc, 2023. "Convergence on inflation and divergence on price-control among Post-Keynesian pioneers: insights from Galbraith and Lerner," EconomiX Working Papers 2023-4, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    2. James L. Butkiewicz & Scott Ohlmacher, 2021. "Ending Bretton Woods: evidence from the Nixon tapes," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 74(4), pages 922-945, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Wage and Price Controls; Political Business Cycle; Macroeconomic Policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E3 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles
    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook
    • H30 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - General
    • N12 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
    • N42 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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