The study looked at how the Federal Reserve's monetary policy changed before and after Paul Volcker became Chairman in 1979. They found that both periods showed a strong focus on predicting and reacting to inflation. Contrary to previous beliefs, the Great Inflation was not caused by weak policy responses to expected inflation. Before Volcker, policy was too focused on trying to close perceived output gaps. Overall, the findings suggest that the Fed's forward-looking approach to policy has helped improve macroeconomic stability since the Great Inflation.