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Ideas for an Alternative Monetary Future

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Ideas for an Alternative Monetary Future

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Should the Fed Devalue Our Currency to Implement Negative Interest Rates?

Larry White/May 11, 2022May 10, 2022 /Leave a comment

In a thought-provoking article published by the IMF in April, Ruchir Agarwal and Miles Kimball argue for moving away from a “paper money standard” and toward an "electronic money standard." The promised benefits include shorter...

Populism and the Future of the Fed: A New Book from Cato’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives

James Dorn/April 19, 2022 /Leave a comment

Revising the Bank Secrecy Act to Protect Privacy and Deter Criminals (CMFA Working Paper No.007)

The CMFA Working Paper Series/April 14, 2022 /Leave a comment

Bitcoin: Problems and Prospects

George Selgin/April 12, 2022April 12, 2022 /5 Comments

Warburton on Theories of Monetary Control and the Fed

James Dorn/March 24, 2022March 21, 2022 /2 Comments

Money & Politics

Should the Fed Devalue Our Currency to Implement Negative Interest Rates?

Larry White/May 11, 2022May 10, 2022 /Leave a comment

In a thought-provoking article published by the IMF in April, Ruchir Agarwal and Miles Kimball argue for moving away from a “paper money standard” and toward an "electronic money standard." The promised benefits include shorter...

Populism and the Future of the Fed: A New Book from Cato’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives

James Dorn/April 19, 2022 /Leave a comment

Revising the Bank Secrecy Act to Protect Privacy and Deter Criminals (CMFA Working Paper No.007)

The CMFA Working Paper Series/April 14, 2022 /Leave a comment

Warburton on Theories of Monetary Control and the Fed

James Dorn/March 24, 2022March 21, 2022 /2 Comments

The New Deal and Recovery, Part 16: The Keynesian Myth, Continued

George Selgin/March 18, 2022March 25, 2022 /8 Comments

The Fed & Central Banks

Should the Fed Devalue Our Currency to Implement Negative Interest Rates?

Larry White/May 11, 2022May 10, 2022 /Leave a comment

In a thought-provoking article published by the IMF in April, Ruchir Agarwal and Miles Kimball argue for moving away from a “paper money standard” and toward an "electronic money standard." The promised benefits include shorter...

Populism and the Future of the Fed: A New Book from Cato’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives

James Dorn/April 19, 2022 /Leave a comment

Warburton on Theories of Monetary Control and the Fed

James Dorn/March 24, 2022March 21, 2022 /2 Comments

The New Deal and Recovery, Part 17: The Keynesian Myth, Concluded

George Selgin/March 22, 2022March 25, 2022 /5 Comments

The New Deal and Recovery, Part 16: The Keynesian Myth, Continued

George Selgin/March 18, 2022March 25, 2022 /8 Comments

Monetary Policy Primer

A Monetary Policy Primer, Part 12: Monetary Alternatives

George Selgin/October 31, 2017February 28, 2019 /28 Comments

This primer is supposed to introduce readers to the workings of the present U.S. monetary system. So it's only natural that it should take established...

A Monetary Policy Primer, Part 11: Last-Resort Lending

George Selgin/August 8, 2017February 28, 2019 /16 Comments

A Monetary Policy Primer, Part 10: Discretion, or a Rule?

George Selgin/May 11, 2017February 28, 2019 /10 Comments

A Monetary Policy Primer, Part 9: Monetary Control, Now

George Selgin/January 10, 2017February 28, 2019 /30 Comments

A Monetary Policy Primer, Part 8: Money in the Latest Great Muddle

George Selgin/January 4, 2017September 19, 2020 /54 Comments

Financial Markets

Revising the Bank Secrecy Act to Protect Privacy and Deter Criminals (CMFA Working Paper No.007)

The CMFA Working Paper Series/April 14, 2022 /Leave a comment

Wide World of ESG: Understanding Investor Demand

Jennifer Schulp/July 28, 2021August 19, 2021 /1 Comment

A Primer on Inflation

James Dorn/July 22, 2021July 21, 2021 /20 Comments

Has Bitcoin Succeeded?

Larry White/December 23, 2020December 23, 2020 /21 Comments

Ending the Fed’s Emergency Lending Facilities: Mnuchin v. Waters

James Dorn/December 10, 2020December 9, 2020 /1 Comment

Fiat Money

Missed it by That Much: Where the Fed's Digital Currency Proposal Goes Wrong

George Selgin/January 22, 2022January 22, 2022 /18 Comments

The Fed's long-awaited report on central bank digital currencies is finally out. Although the report makes it clear that the Fed has no immediate plans to issue a digital currency, it does point to the...

Inflation: A Brief Look Back, and A Path Forward

Norbert Michel/November 19, 2021 /2 Comments

A Three-Pronged Blunder, or, what Money is, and what it isn't

George Selgin/October 27, 2021October 28, 2021 /20 Comments

China’s Digital Yuan: A Threat to Freedom

James Dorn/August 25, 2021August 25, 2021 /12 Comments

The Bitcoin Law: Nayib Bukele's Counterfeit Free Choice in Currency

George Selgin/June 17, 2021July 17, 2021 /9 Comments

Digital Money

Should the Fed Devalue Our Currency to Implement Negative Interest Rates?

Larry White/May 11, 2022May 10, 2022 /Leave a comment

In a thought-provoking article published by the IMF in April, Ruchir Agarwal and Miles Kimball argue for moving away from a “paper money standard” and toward an "electronic money standard." The promised benefits include shorter...

Bitcoin: Problems and Prospects

George Selgin/April 12, 2022April 12, 2022 /5 Comments

Making Money Myths

George Selgin/February 9, 2022February 15, 2022 /4 Comments

Missed it by That Much: Where the Fed's Digital Currency Proposal Goes Wrong

George Selgin/January 22, 2022January 22, 2022 /18 Comments

A Three-Pronged Blunder, or, what Money is, and what it isn't

George Selgin/October 27, 2021October 28, 2021 /20 Comments

Commodity Money

A Three-Pronged Blunder, or, what Money is, and what it isn't

George Selgin/October 27, 2021October 28, 2021 /20 Comments

"The fateful errors of popular monetary doctrines which have led astray the monetary policies of almost all governments would hardly have come into existence if many economists had not themselves committed blunders in dealing with...

The End of Bretton Woods, Jacques Rueff, and the “Monetary Sin of the West”

Larry White/August 10, 2021August 10, 2021 /12 Comments

How U.S. Government Paper Currency Began, and How Private Banknotes Ended

Larry White/May 20, 2021May 20, 2021 /7 Comments

Digital Currency: Risk or Promise?—New Issue of the Cato Journal

James Dorn/May 13, 2021May 12, 2021 /2 Comments

Lawrence White on Private Gold Mints

George Selgin/March 19, 2021March 19, 2021 /9 Comments

Free Banking

Making Money Myths

George Selgin/February 9, 2022February 15, 2022 /4 Comments

Twice now, on this forum back in 2013, and on Twitter more recently (see here and here), I've taken Yale economics professor Gary Gorton's publications to task for misrepresenting the historical record of private currency systems....

An Unnecessary Evil: How Canada ended up Insuring Bank Deposits

George Selgin/November 15, 2021November 15, 2021 /1 Comment

The Fable of the Cats

George Selgin/July 6, 2021November 13, 2021 /13 Comments

Joshua Greenberg on Antebellum Paper Money

George Selgin/March 31, 2021April 3, 2021 /7 Comments

Modeling the Legend, or, the Trouble with Diamond and Dybvig: Part II

George Selgin/December 18, 2020December 18, 2020 /2 Comments

Currency Boards

Dollarization for Lebanon

Larry White/July 30, 2020July 29, 2020 /2 Comments

“The Lights Go Out in Lebanon as Financial Collapse Accelerates,” declared a recent headline in The Washington Post. The headline refers specifically to worsening power outages but more generally to Lebanon’s ongoing “economic implosion.” This...

Fed Policy: A Shadow Review—New Issue of the Cato Journal

Amanda Griffiths/June 20, 2020June 19, 2020 /Leave a comment

When the Fed Tried to Save Main Street

George Selgin/March 30, 2020April 6, 2020 /2 Comments

Handouts, Helicopters, Hong Kong Dollars, and Hogwash

George Selgin/February 26, 2020March 3, 2020 /18 Comments

Inside Cato's 37th Annual Monetary Conference: A Shadow Review of Fed Policy

Amanda Griffiths/December 19, 2019January 2, 2020 /1 Comment

Inflation & Deflation

The New Deal and Recovery, Part 17: The Keynesian Myth, Concluded

George Selgin/March 22, 2022March 25, 2022 /5 Comments

(Previous installments of "The Keynesian Myth" are here and here.) Balancing Act As Richard Adelstein (1991, p. 177) observes, far from taking Keynes's advice that he ratchet-up the federal government's deficit spending, "Roosevelt held fast...

Producer Prices for Goods Rise and Fall with Oil Prices

Alan Reynolds/December 16, 2021December 15, 2021 /2 Comments

Inflation: A Brief Look Back, and A Path Forward

Norbert Michel/November 19, 2021 /2 Comments

Reifschneider and Wilcox's Case for a Three Percent Inflation Target

George Selgin/August 23, 2021March 23, 2022 /11 Comments

A Primer on Inflation

James Dorn/July 22, 2021July 21, 2021 /20 Comments

Economic Thought

Bitcoin: Problems and Prospects

George Selgin/April 12, 2022April 12, 2022 /5 Comments

(As many Alt-M readers will know, my interest in Bitcoin goes back to its earliest days, and even before that: like my grad school mentor and regular Alt-M contributor Lawrence White, I took part in...

Warburton on Theories of Monetary Control and the Fed

James Dorn/March 24, 2022March 21, 2022 /2 Comments

How to Think Straight about Bitcoin’s Social Costs and Benefits

Larry White/March 1, 2022February 28, 2022 /9 Comments

A Three-Pronged Blunder, or, what Money is, and what it isn't

George Selgin/October 27, 2021October 28, 2021 /20 Comments

About Your Proposal for Better Payment Arrangements: Does it Pass the Market Test?

Larry White/October 21, 2021October 20, 2021 /8 Comments

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Contributors

George Selgin
Chuck Moulton
Bradley Jansen
Larry White
Hu McCulloch
James Dorn
Diego Zuluaga
Nicholas Anthony
Jennifer Schulp
Working Paper Series
Norbert Michel

About Us

Welcome to Alt-M, a community devoted to exploring and promoting ideas for an alternative monetary future. Our goal is to reveal the shortcomings of today’s centralized, bureaucratic, and discretionary monetary arrangements, and to bring serious consideration of real alternatives to the center stage of current monetary and financial reform debates.