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Pushing on a string is a figure of speech for influence that is more effective in moving things in one direction than another – you can ''pull,'' but not ''push.'' If something is connected to someone by a string, they can move it toward themselves by pulling on the string, but they cannot move it away from themselves by pushing on the string. It is often used in the context of economic policy, specifically the view that "Monetary policy () asymmetric; it being easier to stop an expansion than to end a severe contraction."〔Sandilans, Roger G. (2001), "The New Deal and 'domesticated' Keynesianism in America, in , (p. 231 )〕 == History == According to Roger G. Sandilans〔 and John Harold Wood〔, (p. 231 ); it cites U. S. Congress House Banking Currency Committee, Hearings, ''Hearings, Banking Act of 1935,'' March 18, 1935, p. 377.〕 the phrase was introduced by Congressman T. Alan Goldsborough in 1935, supporting Federal Reserve chairman Marriner Eccles in Congressional hearings on the Banking Act of 1935: :Governor Eccles: Under present circumstances, there is very little, if any, that can be done. :Congressman Goldsborough: You mean you cannot push on a string. :Governor Eccles: That is a very good way to put it, one cannot push on a string. We are in the depths of a depression and... beyond creating an easy money situation through reduction of discount rates, there is very little, if anything, that the reserve organization can do to bring about recovery.〔 The phrase is, however, often attributed to John Maynard Keynes: "As Keynes pointed out, it's like pushing on a string...", "This is what Keynes meant by the phrase 'Pushing on a string.'" The phrase is also used in regard to asymmetrical influence in other contexts; for example, in 1976 a labor statistician, writing in the New York Times about then US President elect Jimmy Carter's policies, wrote that :in today's economy, reducing unemployment by stimulating employment has become more and more like pushing on a string.〔Moore, Geoffrey H. (1976), "The Employment-Unemployment Trade-Off", ''The New York Times,'' December 9, 1976, p. 47〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pushing on a string」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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