An economic policy, advocated by the
economist Milton Friedman and others, which
proposes control of a country's money supply
to keep it in step with the country's ability
to produce goods, with the aim of curbing
inflation. Cutting government spending is
advocated, and the long-term aim is to return
as much of the economy as possible to the
private sector allegedly in the interests of
efficiency. Additionally, credit is
restricted by high interest rates, and
industry is not cushioned against internal
market forces or overseas competition (with
the aim of preventing `overmanning',
`restrictive' union practices, and
`excessive' wage demands). Unemployment may
result, but monetarists claim, less than
eventually occurs if Keynesian methods are
adopted. Monetarist policies were widely
adopted in the 1980s in response to the
inflation problems caused by spiralling oil
prices in 1979.