In contrast to the so-called 'real' theories of business cycles and growth prevalent in contemporary economics, many important figures in the history of economic thought instinctively focused on monetary factors in explaining macroeconomic behaviour. Controversies in Monetary Economics combines an explanation of past monetary controversies with practical proposals for the conduct of monetary policy in the contemporary global economy. Several alternative approaches to monetary economics are discussed, ranging from the traditional quantity theory to post Keynesian theories of endogenous money.
The key question which emerges is whether or not the mythical 'natural rate' of interest is a meaningful concept. If so, this justifies the conventional view that central bank policy is relevant only for price level determination and does not permanently affect the real economy. However, if the interest rate is itself a 'monetary' phenomenon, as Keynes and others tried to argue, then central bank interest rate policy cannot be neutral and is an important determinant of economic prosperity.
The book will be essential reading for economists with an interest in monetary economics and the history of economic thought.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
'. . . this is an excellent work by Smithin in the field of monetary economics which not only discusses the controversies in monetary theories but also explains practical proposals for the conduct of monetary policy. This book will be very much useful for academic specialists in monetary economics and macroeconomics, historians of economic thought and practitioners in central banks, international institutions and finance ministries.' -- Sadananda Prusty, Kyklos '. . . the author must be commended for the breadth of coverage, for the reasoned and fair analysis, and for attempts to synthesize and extend previous work in this area. In particular, the model he has presented should provide the basis for further attempts to develop a coherent approach to monetary theory and policy.' -- L. Randall Wray, Eastern Economic Review
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Für höhere Schule und Studium
Maße
Höhe: 234 mm
Breite: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-85278-399-0 (9781852783990)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
John Smithin, Professor of Economics, Department of Economics and the Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto, Canada
Part 1 Some introductory remarks on money and economic theory and policy: Keynes's concept of "Monetary Production"; the lessons of history; the influence of monetarism; some important themes in monetary economics; plan of the book. Part 2 The nature and functions of money - a re-examination: the implicit mainstream view; the new monetary economics; a return to gold?; money and credit; the choice of the monetary standard. Part 3 Monetarism and the quantity theory of money: the quantity theory of money; Friedman's "restatement" and the monetary theory of nominal income; Friedman's policy proposals; monetarism and the "New Classical" school; monetarism and free banking; endogenous money. Part 4 The real bills doctrine, interest rate pegging and endogenous money: credit money and commodity money; the Real Bills doctrine; interest rates and inflation; the post Keynesian theory of endogenous money. Part 5 How do central banks get their power?: central banks and government; public goods and natural monopolies; centralizing tendencies in monetary systems; potential empirical evidence. Part 6 Money, interest rates and output: nominal rigidities and short-run monetary non-neutrality; the natural rate of interest; alternative theories of interest. Part 7 The international economy and alternative exchange rate regimes: financial networks and national economies; the "Hegemonic" system; fixed and floating exchange rates and currency unions; implications of alternative exchange rate regimes; the political dimension; the monetarist connection; what would be a "Keynesian" approach to currency and exchange rate issues?; exchange rate policy and "cheap money"; optimal currency areas?; experience with existing floating rate regimes; are fixed exchange rates necessary for free trade?; exchange rates and capital mobility. Part 8 The costs of inflation: the trade-off between inflation and unemployment; the suggested costs of inflation; inflation and the monetary system of production; the costs of a perfectly anticipated inflation when money pays to interest; the menu costs of inflation; distributional issues; indexation; alternative inflation norms. (Part contents).
