May 26, 2010 Reading Time: < 1 minute

“Free banking, generically speaking, denotes a monetary system without a central bank, under which the issuing of currency is left to private banks. This book explores how this could work in practice by examining how this has worked historically, specifically in the United Kingdom in the early 19th century. After building a theory of free banking, its central chapters explore the history of Scotland’s experience of free banking and the contemporary policy debate over the question of whether Parliament should allow free banking in England.

The final chapters bring the debate forward and examine how free banking could work in modern times. The result is a significantly revised and update edition of a book about privately issued currency.” Get it here.

Free Banking in Britain – Theory, Experience and Debate 1800-1845
Lawrence H. White
Published by the Institute of Economic Affairs.

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