34th Cato Monetary Conference: Central Banks and Financial Turmoil
This piece originally appeared in Alt-M By Ari Blask More than two hundred people came to Cato last Thursday, November 17th, for the 34th Annual Monetary Conference. Four panels and two keynote speakers covered “Central Banks and Financial Turmoil,” t …
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Monetary debates
In recent decades, the “big debate” among monetary economists and policy makers was “Rules versus Discretion.” That debate accepted that the various tools/instruments available to monetary policymakers are well known. Implicit is that the linkages be …
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The asymmetry of central bank power
For some time now, a lot of attention has been put on the Federal Reserve’s decision on whether or not to increase the federal funds rate target or to leave it unchanged at its current level. The health of the U.S. economy (and a significant part of th …
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Op-ed: What Brexit means for the euro
This article originally appeared in Forbes International political and economic news in recent weeks was filled with stories and analyses of the United Kingdom referendum to leave the European Union (EU). The immediate results of the vote included the …
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Op-ed: On November 8th, I’m voting for our next Fed Chair
This piece originally appeared in the Daily Caller With just days until the conclusion of one of our history’s most polarizing presidential election cycles, it’s hard for a proponent of a free-society to be truly excited. But while it may be difficult …
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The price of time and the price of money
When discussing the market for money balances, many reputable macroeconomics and money and banking textbooks say that the price of money is the interest rate. This ‘liquidity preference’ theory is misguided. The kernel of truth therein is that, in ho …
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The twists and turns of the greenback
This article appeared in the November 2016 issue of Globe Asia. At a monetary conference in Vienna back in 2014, the distinguished Frenchman, friend, and occasional collaborator Jacques de Larosière proclaimed that the current world monetary order shou …
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The end of cash?
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 …
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The contractionary, contradictory nature of negative interest rates
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 …
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Leonard Liggio lecture 2016: The classical liberal tradition of sound money
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 …
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Disappointing estimates of the natural rate
The Fed should stop trying to do the impossible. It should, instead, take the more practical approach of targeting nominal income.
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Enhance prosperity and improve health: Slash regulations, please
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 …
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