Topic: Sound Money Project

The end of cash?

– October 25, 2016

Follow the money… Why are we still using cash? Given the rapid advances we’ve enjoyed in digital payment technology thanks to debit and credit cards and apps like PayPal, Apple Pay and Venmo, many economists are puzzled that cash hasn’t already begun g …

Sound Money Project

The contractionary, contradictory nature of negative interest rates

– October 12, 2016

A negative interest rate imposed by a central bank on reserve balances of commercial banks is not an interest rate at all. It is a tax. As such, like all taxes, it transfers resources from the private sector to the government sector and has a contrac …

Sound Money Project

Leonard Liggio lecture 2016: The classical liberal tradition of sound money

– October 10, 2016

By Dr. Lawrence White Let me welcome you all to the capital of Latin America. And when I say capital, I mean that much of the financial wealth of Latin America is held with banks and fund managers across the street, here in Miami. And therein lies a le …

Sound Money Project

Disappointing estimates of the natural rate

– October 5, 2016

The Fed should stop trying to do the impossible. It should, instead, take the more practical approach of targeting nominal income.

Sound Money Project

Enhance prosperity and improve health: Slash regulations, please

– October 3, 2016

This article appeared in Globe Asia. Productivity and economic growth continue to surprise on the downside in most countries. While there is a great deal of handwringing over the so-called productivity puzzle, little attention is given to the real elix …

Sound Money Project

Don’t blame central bankers for persistently low interest rates

– August 23, 2016

Many who are supportive of free markets blame central banks for the low interest rates that have prevailed since the end of the 2007-8 financial crisis. This is a mistake. Central banks can, in the short run and all else being equal, lower market inte …

Sound Money Project

Natural rate of interest: Is it that low?

– August 10, 2016

One of the open questions since the subprime crisis is whether or not the natural rate of interest is as low as the federal funds rate. The natural interest rate is the rate that equilibrates production over time. However, this concept is more subtle t …

Sound Money Project

On the Italian and eurozone doomsday scenario

– July 27, 2016

This article appeared in the June 2016 issue of Globe Asia. On June 23rd, the voters in the United Kingdom (UK) turned a collective thumbs-down on the European Union (EU). The Brexit advocates – the ones who had had enough of the EU’s mandates and regu …

Sound Money Project

The monetary ripples of Brexit

– July 20, 2016

June 23 will most likely be remembered as a turning point in Britain’s fate, as 17.4 million Britons expressed their desire to sever ties with the European Union (EU) in a historic referendum. The British, and global, economy is facing an imminent clou …

Sound Money Project

Austerity isn’t failing, big government is

– July 18, 2016

Bill Emmott at Project Syndicate claims that austerity is failing—just look at the poor European recovery after the financial crisis and the weak Japanese economy. Austerity is not working and therefore it is time to turn fiscal and increase government …

Sound Money Project

Against monetary democracy

– July 13, 2016

Thanks in part to high-profile and controversial public policy since the financial crisis, and to a lesser extent politicians such as Ron and Rand Paul, the monetary and financial arrangements of the United States have become a surprising source of pub …

Sound Money Project

On Brexit

– July 6, 2016

There has been a strong (and I’m inclined to say emotional) negative reaction to the Brexit. But really, it doesn’t have to be the end of the world for the British economy. Being a member to the European Union (EU) imposes two constraints. First, ther …