Response to Nelson and Schwartz

In responding to Nelson and Schwartz's [2008. The impact of Milton Friedman on modern monetary economics: setting the record straight on Paul Krugman's “Who was Milton Friedman?”. Journal of Monetary Economics 55, this issue] critique of my “Who Was Milton Friedman”, I focus on three central economic topics: (i) whether it is reasonable to claim that the Federal Reserve caused the Great Depression; (ii) whether monetary policy had the power to engineer an economic recovery after the onset of the depression; and (iii) whether monetarism succeeded or failed. On all these key points, I reject the criticisms of Nelson and Schwartz.