Mankiw's advice to Bernanke

It's just a year old story. Former Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, Dr. Greg Mankiw had five advices to the new Fed chairman Ben Bernake after Alan Greenspan had stepped down.

1. Since Alan Greenspan had successfully challenged the widespread consensus - which was made clear by Kydland and Prescott - that "monetary policy set by discretion is tempted to be time inconsistent, leading to more inflation than is optimal". Which position would Mr. Bernanke believe in?

2. Related to the above question, Mankiw expressed his opinion on Bernanke's persistent advocacy on "inflation targeting" , which might cost policy flexibility. "...Greenspan never announced a commitment to any particular target inflation rate because he wanted to maintain maximal flexibility..."

3. Bernake should be prepared to talk not only about monetary policy, but also about issues related to financial stability in that "Greenspan has not been shy about expressing opinions on a broad range of economic issues". While "you should also stay away from issues that have a trifecta of problems..."

4. Mankiw suggested him become as boring a public figure as possible. "...if you, as the new Fed chairman, accept a lower public profile than Greenspan, the true nature of the Fed could be more widely appreciated, and that would be a step in the right direction..."

5. Honestly, "luck plays a large role in how history judges central bankers".

Well, the last point sometimes may stochastically dominant the other four.