Monetary Economics

Monetary policy influences inflation, employment, and economic activity. A stable but dynamic monetary system is vital for supporting economic growth, individual liberty, and a prosperous society. Therefore, we examine the causes and consequences of monetary policy (including inflation), identify ideal and practical steps towards a better monetary policy regime, and look at monetary alternatives and financial regulation.

Articles

Inflation was Worse than We Thought

William J. Luther September 30, 2023

“Although Fed officials were late to tighten monetary policy, their efforts over the last year appear to have worked. The risk today is that monetary policy is too tight—and will remain so for too long.” ~William J. Luther

How Crazy Do You Have to Be to Support Dollarization?

Nicolas Cachanosky September 28, 2023

“The whole reason why it is an advantage for a developing country to tie to a major country is that historically speaking the internal policies of developing countries have been very bad. US policy has been bad, but their policies have been far worse.” ~Nicolás Cachanosky

Wishful (Protectionist) Thinking 

Paul Mueller September 28, 2023

“Specialization and productivity increase when the market’s size extends across national borders. But tariffs reduce the extent of the market and thereby reduce specialization.” ~Paul Mueller

Another Rate Hike? Let’s Not

Alexander W. Salter September 26, 2023

“Interest rate and liquidity data point to the same conclusion: monetary policy is sufficiently tight. Further tightening could cause a painful economic contraction.” ~Alexander W. Salter

David Malpass on Inflation and Slow Growth

Alexander W. Salter September 16, 2023

“If we try to push supply-side economics as an inflation-reduction strategy, we’re setting ourselves up for failure by banking on a problem that’s largely solved.” ~ Alexander W. Salter