A Celebration Honoring John B. Taylor’s Contributions to Economics and Monetary Policy

Overview

A professor of economics at Stanford University and fellow at its Hoover Institution, John B. Taylor has made influential contributions in monetary policy, public service, and academia for five decades.

A Celebration Honoring John B. Taylor’s Contributions to Economics and Monetary Policy is based on a conference held May 8, 2025, at the Hoover Institution to honor Taylor and his career. Many of Taylor’s colleagues, students, and friends came together to pay tribute and share insightful anecdotes of his character and dedication.

Reflecting the conference proceedings, this volume shares the presentations and vivid discussions around Taylor’s role as a leading economist, from his development of the influential Taylor rule—an important tool of monetary policy—to his laudable public service in the US Treasury and on the Council of Economic Advisers under three presidents.

The impact of Taylor’s work is enhanced by his deep policy engagement. This volume further captures how Taylor’s influence extended through personal interactions with colleagues and generations of students.

Reviews

“John Taylor’s rigorous analysis and brilliant research taught the importance of connecting theory and experience to yield clear prescriptions for good policy.”
—John C. Williams, president and chief executive officer, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

“The list of contributors testifying to the pivotal role of Taylor’s research reads like a who’s who of macroeconomics and central banking. The Taylor rule [has] proved tremendously useful for policy practice around the world.”
—Volker Wieland, IMFS Endowed Chair Monetary Economics, Frankfurt

“Insightful reflections by leading scholars on the significance of Taylor’s contributions to economic science and policy . . . a well-deserved homage to a great macroeconomist.”
—Jordi Galí, senior researcher, Center for Research in International Economics, and professor, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

“It is not possible to overstate John Taylor’s contribution to modern macroeconomics. After the rational expectations revolution of the 1960s and ’70s devastated traditional macroeconomics, John helped lead the way out of the wilderness. . . . This volume wonderfully tells the story of how all this occurred and what it all means.”
 —Mark Gertler, Henry and Lucy Moses Professor of Economics and university professor, New York University

“A masterful review of developments in monetary macroeconomics since the 1970s. . . . Leading scholars provide a window on current debates about the role of rules in the conduct of monetary policy, while also demonstrating the breadth and depth of Taylor’s influence.”
—Michael Woodford, John Bates Clark Professor of Political Economy, Columbia University

Author Biography

Michael D. Bordo is the Duncan Stewart Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution; and a Board of Governors Professor of Economics and director of the Center for Monetary and Financial History at Rutgers University.

John H. Cochrane is the Rose-Marie and Jack Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and an adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute.