Monetary predictability
Supposing we decide a formal monetary constitution is a good idea, what properties should it have? What essential features of money must a monetary constitution safeguard? Again referencing James Buchanan, we know that money has properties that rende …
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Money, inflation, and central banks
Milton Friedman famously declared that inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon. While that no doubt remains a universal principle, it is not the same (as some people think) that inflation is a central bank phenomenon. Certainly, befo …
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Bank regulations continue to hinder the U.S. recovery
This article appeared in the December 2015 issue of Globe Asia. By Professor Steve H. Hanke Money matters — it’s one of Milton Friedman’s maxims that I repeat often in my columns. Since the Northern Rock bank run of 2007 — the “opening shot” of the fi …
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More insights from the Cato Monetary Conference
In this post I would like to briefly comment on three points raised by J. B. Taylor, George Selgin, and Scott Sumner. Though these points have been raised before, they are worth reviewing. B. Taylor delivered his lecture on the challenges of monetary p …
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The Wicksell Club
I was pleased to see David Henderson call out Bill Poole for claiming the Fed sets the federal funds rate. It doesn’t, of course. Welcome to the Wicksell Club, David! We don’t have ties or t-shirts. But our common cause is worthwhile. Many of my econom …
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The global gold market vs. sovereign debt
This article was originally published by UFM Market Trends. By Dickson Buchanan Jr. The gold market has shown a lot of volatility recently, causing many financial commentators to question its relevance for today’s modern financial arena. It’s become qu …
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Does bitcoin have a big volatility problem?
Harper is right that bitcoin is volatile; that this volatility makes it less desirable to hold; and that its volatility will continue to decline as the demand for bitcoin increases. Nonetheless, concerns about its volatility are often overstated.
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Cato Monetary Conference: a reflection on James Bullard
Last Tuesday, the 33rd annual Cato Monetary Conference was held at the Cato Institute in Washington, DC. There, brilliant minds met and presented on various interesting topics. I will briefly comment on some of them in another post, but for now would l …
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Do we need a distinct monetary constitution?
Having a monetary constitution is important. But do we need a distinct monetary constitution? Steven Horwitz says no. Agreeing with James Buchanan that a monetary constitution is desirable, Horwitz argues that a general constitution that protects priva …
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Prudential banking versus real bills doctrine
Should banks adhere to the Real Bills Doctrine (RBD)? This is an old question that, from time to time, resurfaces. So what then is a real bill? A real bill is a bill that is backed by a real good. If I produce bread, for instance, then as a producer I …
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Op-ed: A new sound money movement for the GOP?
Taking a look back at last week’s GOP debate, there is clearly room for much criticism of CNBC and the questions asked of the candidates. But, sound money advocates might concede that the moderators did get one thing right: monetary policy. According t …
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Sound as a dollar
A few weeks ago I addressed the question, “Who Wants Sound Money?” Because my answer was that apparently everyone does, the next obvious question is: who should be responsible for assuring sound money? In the case of the US dollar, the original answer …
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