This paper discusses several aspects of the medium-term orientation of OECD countries' economic policies in the 1980s, concentrating on monetary and fiscal instruments. The developments that led to the adoption of such a "medium-term strategy", and the apparent analytical rationale for it, are first described. The paper then examines the way the strategy was actually implemented, attempting to judge how closely policies have in fact followed medium-term objectives, and assesses the results. Some lessons from experience with the strategy are outlined in conclusion ...