Competition and Currency: Essays on Free Banking and Money (Cato Institute Book Series)

lawrence H. White Deals With A Major Issue Of The 1990s—reprivatization Of Money. He Makes A Cogent Argument And Presents Evidence That Private, Competing Currencies Would Provide More Monetary Stability Than Do Central Banks. Surprisingly Enough, Modern Private Money May Emerge First In Eastern Europe, Where The Gap Between The Economy's Need And The Government's Money Is Greates. —richard Rahn, Vice President And Chief Economists, U.s. Chamber Of Commerce. boldly, White Makes A Persuasive Case For Free Banking....in Time, We May Well Look Back And Regard competition And Currency As Crucial In The Development Of The Economy And Economic Thought Of The Future. — The New York City Tribune white Is A Leading Analyst Of A Laissez-faire Monetary System Featuring A Privately Issued Money Supply. His Perceptive Insights Force A Rethinking Of Our Present Regulated Monetary System And Of What Kind Of Reforms Will Remedy Its Defects. Avery Worthwhile Collection Of Essays For All Students Of Monetary Theory. —philip Cagan, Columbia University white Is A Leading Analyst Of A Laissez-faire Monetary System Featuring A Privately Issued Money Supply. His Perceptive Insights Force A Rethinking Of Our Present Regulated Monetary System And Of What Kind Of Reforms Will Remedy Its Defects. A Very Worthwhile Collection Of Essays For All Students Of Monetary Theory. —phillip Cagan, Columbia University newcomers To The Literature...would Be Recommended To Start With White's Volume, Where Each Paper Is Self-contained In Its Handling Of Particular Aspects Of Free Banking...highly Recommended As Clear, Well-argued Expositions Of The Case For Free Banking, Challenging Assumptions Common To Much Of Monetary Economics. It Is Particularly Apposite That These Assumptions Be Questioned At A Time When Institutional Reform Is So Much On The Agenda. —sheila C. Dow, The Economic Journal "Lawrence H. White deals with a major issue of the 1990sreprivatization of money. He makes a cogent argument and presents evidence that private, competing currencies would provide more monetary stability than do central banks. Surprisingly enough, modern private money may emerge first in Eastern Europe, where the gap between the economy's need and the government's money is greates." Richard Rahn, Vice President and Chief Economists, U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "Boldly, White makes a persuasive case for free banking....In time, we may well look back and regard Competition and Currency as crucial in the development of the economy and economic thought of the future." The New York City Tribune "White is a leading analyst of a laissez-faire monetary system featuring a privately issued money supply. HIs perceptive insights force a rethinking of our present regulated monetary system and of what kind of reforms will remedy its defects. Avery worthwhile collection of essays for all students of monetary theory." Philip Cagan, Columbia University "White is a leading analyst of a laissez-faire monetary system featuring a privately issued money supply. HIs perceptive insights force a rethinking of our present regulated monetary system and of what kind of reforms will remedy its defects. A very worthwhile collection of essays for all students of monetary theory." Phillip Cagan, Columbia University "Newcomers to the literature...would be recommended to start with White's volume, where each paper is self-contained in its handling of particular aspects of free banking...Highly recommended as clear, well-argued expositions of the case for free banking, challenging assumptions common to much of monetary economics. It is particularly apposite that these assumptions be questioned at a time when institutional reform is so much on the agenda." Sheila C. Dow, The Economic Journal Cover ......Page 1 Contents......Page 7 Acknowledgments......Page 9 Introduction......Page 11 References......Page 19 Part I The Case for Free Banking ......Page 21 1 Free Banking as an Alternative Monetary System ......Page 23 2 Competitive Money, Inside and Out ......Page 58 3 Problems Inherent in Political Money Supply Regimes: Some Historical and Theoretical Lessons ......Page 80 4 Depoliticizing the Supply of Money ......Page 101 5 Privatization of Financial Institutions in Developing Countries ......Page 121 Part II The Question of the Monetary Standard ......Page 135 6 Gold, Dollars, and Private Currencies ......Page 137 7 Fix or Float? The International Monetary Dilemma ......Page 147 8 Free Banking and the Gold Standard ......Page 158 Part III The Theory of Competitive Monetary Arrangements ......Page 177 9 Competitive Payments Systems and the Unit of Account ......Page 179 10 Competitive Payments Systems: Reply ......Page 205 11 A Subjectivist Perspective on the Definition and Identification of Money ......Page 213 12 The Evolution of a Free Banking System with George A. Selgin ......Page 228 13 Accounting for Non-interest-bearing Currency: A Critique of the Legal Restrictions Theory of Money ......Page 253 Index......Page 265 Argues that open competition among private firms could provide a monetary system better than that currently provided by state monopolized central banks, indicating how monetary uncertainty is brought on by cycles of inflation and disinflation inherent in the system.