A presentation on economist Milton Friedman, describing his life and theories.

1. ‘Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon.’
—Milton Friedman, 1963.

2. Introduction
• Milton Friedman, born July 31,
1912, was an American economist,
statistician and writer who
taught at the University of
Chicago for more than three
decades. In 1976 he received the
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic
Sciences for his research on
consumption analysis, monetary
history and theory and the
complexity of stabilization policy.

3. Life
• In 1977 Friedman made a
television program presenting
his economic and social
philosophy. He worked on this
project for the next three
years, and during 1980, the
ten-part series, titled Free to
Choose, was broadcast by the
Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS). This helped Friedman
rise to fame.

4. Economics
• Friedman was the main proponent of the monetarist
school of economics. He maintained that there is a
close and stable association between inflation and
the money supply, mainly that inflation could be
avoided with proper regulation of the monetary
base's growth rate. He famously used the analogy of
"dropping money out of a helicopter."

5. Controversy
• Friedman rejected the use of fiscal policy as a tool
of demand management; and he held that the
government's role in the guidance of the economy
should be restricted severely. Friedman wrote
extensively on the Great Depression, which he
termed the Great Contraction, arguing that it had
been caused by directors of the Federal Reserve.
‘History suggests that capitalism is
a necessary condition for political
freedom. Clearly it is not a sufficient
condition.’