My view is that the literature has a very poor grasp of the concepts of 
'credibility' and 'time-inconsistency', and in particular of what policy 
implications (for the rules v discretion debate and otherwise) those 
sorts of arguments might have. Hence:

Forder, J. (2001) "The theory of credibility and the reputation bias of 
policy." Review of Political Economy 13(1): 5-25.

Forder, J. (1998) "Central bank independence - conceptual clarifications 
and interim assessment." Oxford Economic Papers 50: 307-334.

Forder, J. (2000) "Credibility and Central Bank Independence: Is there a 
shred of evidence?" International Finance 3(1): 167-185

Forder, J. (2004) ""Credibility" in context: Do central bankers and 
economists interpret the term differently?" Econ Journal Watch 1(3): 413-426

Forder, J. (2004) The theory of credibility: confusions, limitations, 
and dangers, in Neo-liberal economic policy. ed P. Arestis and M. C. 
Sawyer. London, Elgar

James Forder
Fellow and Tutor in Political Economy
Vice Master (Executive)
Balliol College Oxford

On 13/02/2013 16:18, Anna de Bruyckere wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> I am trying to get a better historical and philosophical understanding
> of the rules vs discretion debate for economic policy, with the problem
> of time inconsistency as a central focus/argument for rule following
> rather than discretionary policy.
>
> I am currently looking for seminal contributions to that literature
> (Kydland & Prescott's 1977 'Rules rather than Discretion' being an
> obvious part of it), as well as for any historical or philosophical
> perspectives on it. With respect to the latter, it may be that I have
> not been searching very well, but I have mostly found just one piece,
> Argy's 1988 'A Post-War History of the Rules vs Discretion Debate'
> (which I read as a contribution to "Milton Friedman: Critical
> Assessments", 1990, eds. Wood and Woods).
>
> I'd be much obliged in case some of you would have suggestions on how to
> proceed. I will make sure to compile a summary of suggestions and share
> that on the list with you all.
>
> With my best wishes,
> Anna
>
>
> Anna de Bruyckere
> Darwin College
> Cambridge CB3 9EU
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>