Monetární politika a boj s inflací ve Velké Británii v letech 1970–1983

This bachelor’s thesis analyzes the development of monetary and anti-inflation policy in the United Kingdom between 1970 and 1983. It focuses on the main causes of high inflation in the 1970s, changes in the approaches adopted by successive British governments to address it, and the shift in economic policy after 1979. The thesis draws on academic literature, contemporary sources, and statistical data to compare different periods of British anti-inflation policy and to examine the development of selected macroeconomic indicators. The analysis shows that high inflation resulted from a combination of domestic wage and demand pressures, external price shocks, and an economic policy environment that failed to contain these pressures in a timely and sufficiently effective manner. The importance of monetary policy had already been growing during the second half of the 1970s, but it assumed a central role in the fight against inflation only after 1979. More consistent monetary tightening subsequently contributed to a more substantial and lasting reduction in inflation, but it was also associated with a deep recession, a sharp contraction in manufacturing, and a rapid rise in unemployment. The thesis also shows that the success of anti-inflation policy cannot be assessed solely in terms of the reduction in inflation achieved, but must also take into account the way in which this outcome was achieved and its broader economic consequences.