Taylor, Sumner and Selgin at the Cato Monetary Conference
In this post I want to briefly comment on three points raised by J. B. Taylor, George Selgin, and Scott Sumner. Though these points have been raised before in the literature, they are certainly worth reviewing. J. B. Taylor delivered his lecture on the …
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The value of our money
The purchasing power of money over time depends on its relative abundance or scarcity. People choose to hold money balances for a variety of reasons, all of which economists lump together as “the demand for money.” It is crucially important that this i …
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The long run benefits of a monetary policy rule
When teaching undergraduates or talking with non-economists, I usually argue that, while the Fed can affect aggregate demand (or nominal spending), it has no effect whatsoever on aggregate supply. If economic output declines because productivity growth …
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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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