Steele, Sandra C.

The main contribution of this thesis is the determination of how long it takes for an adjustment in the short-term interest rate to effect inflation. In order to ascertain this, a good amount of economic theory is covered, including a rudimentary explanation of inflation and interest rates, a brief history of monetary policy in the United States, an analysis of the relationship between long- and short-term interest rates, the importance of credibility and inertia, and a detailed review of interest rate policy since 1979. This, in conjunction with empirical analysis, does in fact offer an answer to this question.