How U.S. Government Paper Currency Began, and How Private Banknotes Ended
A couple months ago, in arguing that “The Fed should give everyone a bank account,” journalist Matt Yglesias cited what he took to be an instructive precedent: “Once upon a time, governments didn’t issue paper currency, and instead banknotes were printed privately by banks. But over time,…
Digital Currency: Risk or Promise?—New Issue of the Cato Journal
(This editor's note is cross-posted from the Spring/Summer 2021 edition of the Cato Journal.) In 1996, Cato held its 14th Annual Monetary Conference, “The Future of Money in the Information Age.” The proceedings, along with additional essays, appeared in a book with the same title in 1997. …
The New Deal and Recovery, Part 14: Fear Itself, Concluded
(This post completes my three-part discussion of the "regime uncertainty" hypothesis, according to which the New Deal hampered recovery by causing businessmen to fear policy changes that might render their investments unprofitable. Links to the previous posts about regime uncertainty, and to the other posts of my…
The New Deal and Recovery, Part 13: Fear Itself, Continued
(This post continues my discussion of the "regime uncertainty" hypothesis, according to which the New Deal hampered recovery by causing businessmen to fear policy changes that might render their investments unprofitable.) Insull's Monstrosity The 1935 Revenue Act wasn't the only measure that had businessmen and investors…