It's great to be back at one of my alma maters to deliver the Freebairn Lecture in Public Policy. John Freebairn's extensive publication record and long history of contributions to public debate speak to his abiding interest in public policy across a broad range of areas. It is indeed an honour to be invited to speak as part of a lecture series named for him. My lecture tonight is motivated from the point of view of someone tasked with advising on the setting of monetary policy. In doing so, we should occasionally step back and consider how we think about what we are trying to achieve. It has long been known that the ... (full story)