Jawboning

"Jawboning" or "moral suasion" in economics and politics is an unofficial technique of public and private discussions and arm-twisting, which may work by the implicit threat of future government regulation. In America during the Democratic administrations of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson officials tried to deal with the mounting inflationary pressures by direct government influence or jawboning. Wage-price guideposts were established, and the power of the presidency was used to push businesses and labor into going along with these guideposts. The term attracted some derision and is often associated with the Biblical story, in Judges 15:15, of Samson slaying a thousand of his enemies using the jawbone of an ass. Alfred E. Kahn, an economic advisor to President Carter, was particularly known for his dislike of the method.

The term jawboning has also been used to refer to Herbert Hoover's efforts to convince employers to keep wages high as prices fell during the Great Depression. While Hoover was successful in obtaining such agreements, they did little to alleviate unemployment. The term has been used more recently in other contexts. During the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election, George W. Bush criticized outgoing president Bill Clinton for not attempting to lower oil prices by "jawboning OPEC" to increase supply.

The Canadian-American economist J. K. Galbraith stated that "jawboning" was first used to describe the activities of the U.S. Office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply, formed in April 1941.

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