“Bank of England’s Mervyn King Warns Over Inflation”

– July 28, 2010

“Prices rises have consistently defied the Bank’s expectations of a slowdown, adding to pressure on households as wage growth remains weak and the Government introduces a strict austerity package. The Bank’s rate-setters are charged with keeping inflat …

READ MORE

The Great Reflation

– July 21, 2010

“The financial crisis, the speculative bubble leading up to it, and the aftermath have proven once again just how true the old saying is that if you want to know what’s going on in the financial system, watch the banks. The banking system has always be …

READ MORE

“Illinois Free Banking Experience”

– July 21, 2010

“Recent studies by Rolnick and Weber (1983, 1984) have presented evidence challenging the conventional view of the Free Banking Era (1837-1863). The conventional view depicts a period of financial chaos in which lenient regulations gave rise to a pleth …

READ MORE

“New Evidence on the Free Banking Era”

– July 21, 2010

“The United States has experienced many periods of major banking panics during which a large number of banks have failed and financial markets have been in considerable disarray. The period consid-ered by many as the worst is the one period when banks …

READ MORE

“Free Banking and Information Asymmetry”

– July 21, 2010

“A traditional argument against free banking is that it will collapse because of information externalities: it is impossible for depositors to tell whether a high deposit rate offered by a bank is due to its high efficiency or risky lending strategy. T …

READ MORE

“Free Banking and Monetary Control”

– July 21, 2010

“Were free banking to reemerge today, it would probably be based, not on a gold standard, but on irredeemable paper (‘fiat’) base money issued by a former or extant central bank. Under this form of free banking, the price level is no longer given, and …

READ MORE

“Fed’s Duke:Time For Review Of Community Reinvestment Act”

– July 20, 2010

“Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke called Monday for a thorough review and update of a federal law that limits discriminatory credit practices in low-income neighborhoods. “Today’s financial landscape is vastly different from the one in which the …

READ MORE

“The Gold Standard: A Principled Case”

– July 20, 2010

“In recent months, we have witnessed fierce arguments between, on the one side, those who defend the current system of “fiat money,” in which, as John Maynard Keynes stated, money “is created and issued by the State, but is not convertible by law into …

READ MORE

“Fed Nominees Support Expanded Duties”

– July 16, 2010

“Hours before the Senate approved a far-reaching overhaul of Wall Street regulations on Thursday, President Obama’s three nominees to the board of the Federal Reserve said they were prepared to help the central bank handle its vastly expanded duties to …

READ MORE

“Economic Recovery Slower Than Expected”

– July 14, 2010

“Federal Reserve leaders marked down their expectations for growth and inflation last month, concluding that the economic recovery is proceeding more slowly than they had thought in the spring but that the slowdown did not warrant new policy actions. B …

READ MORE

Money and Banking: The American Experience

– July 14, 2010

The style of Money and Banking: The American Experience is one of article and comment. An author provides an article on the issues of money and banking in the U.S. and another academic provides a comment on said article. The table of contents is as fol …

READ MORE

“Your Money Back”

– July 12, 2010

“Is Ron Paul’s suggestion that the Federal Reserve be eliminated a “fringe position,” as Josh Barro suggested in the June 21 issue of National Review (“Mend the Fed”)? It depends on what “fringe” means. If it means simply that a large majority disagree …

READ MORE