Controls and inflation: The Economic Stabilization Program in Retrospect by Marvin H. Kosters, with J. Dawson Ahalt, examines the phases of the Economic Stabilization Program from 1971 to 1974, analyzyng the controls as an "incomes policy" tool that was a part of the U.S. policy response to infaltion. The authors consider the political context and market environment in which controls were administered and take note of the interplay between these factors and the day-to-day problems of administering the controls and adapting their underlying concepts. Although it may be too early to reach final conclusions about the program's effectiveness, this study should contribute to a better understanding of this experience with controls and establish terms of reference for assesing their influence.
The study was initially presented at a November 1974 conference on "Price Behavior 1965-1974" sponsored by the Conference on Research in Income and Wealth of the National Bureu of Economic Research.