From the beginning, there is one embarrassing and evident fact that Professor White has to cope with: that "free" Scottish banks suspended specie payment when England did, in 1797, and, like England, maintained that suspension until 1821. Free banks are not supposed to be able to, or…
As all dedicated Alt-M readers know, I am a big fan of the Canadian banking and monetary system that flourished between Canada's Confederation in 1867 and the outbreak of the First World War. Besides thinking it was a darn good system, I also regard it as the…
Among last week's news items that had colleagues asking me, "What's your answer to this?," was a piece by Quartz's John Detrixhe, telling its readers that, according to "300 years of financial history," rolling back bank regulations is a good way to trigger a financial meltdown. Though…
I often find myself described, not as a monetary economist, plain vanilla or otherwise, but as a "free banker," and (therefore) as someone who wants to "abolish" the Fed. Yet I've also been accused of lacking consistency, and even of being an outright apologist for monetary central…
The gang at Cato’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives is thrilled to report that Matt Ridley will visit Cato tomorrow to discuss his new book The Evolution of Everything. Ridley is the author of numerous best-selling (and excellent) books on science and society. We especially like his…