1st Edition

Bank Deregulation & Monetary Order

By George Selgin Copyright 1996
    300 Pages
    by Routledge

    300 Pages
    by Routledge

    Can the 'invisible hand' handle money? George Selgin challenges the view that government regulation creates monetary order and stability, and instead shows it to be the main source of monetary crisis.
    The volume is divided into three sections:
    * Part I refutes conventional wisdom holding that any monetary system lacking government regulation is 'inherently unstable', and looks at the workings of market forces in an otherwise unregulated banking system.
    * Part II draws on both theory and historical experience to show how various kinds of government interference undermine the inherent efficiency, safety, and stability of a free monetary system.
    * Part III completes the argument by addressing the popular misconception that a monetary system is unsound unless it delivers a stable output price-level.

    INTRODUCTION Part I The nature of free banking 1 HOW WOULD THE INVISIBLE HAND HANDLE MONEY? (with Lawrence H.White) 2 THE EVOLUTION OF A FREE BANKING SYSTEM (with Lawrence H.White) 3 THE RATIONALIZATION OF CENTRAL BANKS Part II Macroeconomic consequences of deregulation 4 THE STABILITY AND EFFICIENCY OF MONEY SUPPLY UNDER FREE BANKING 5 COMMERCIAL BANKS AS PURE INTERMEDIARIES Between “old” and “new” views 6 FREE BANKING AND MONETARY CONTROL 7 MONETARY EQUILIBRIUM AND THE PRODUCTIVITY NORM OF PRICE-LEVEL POLICY 8 THE “PRODUCTIVITY NORM” VERSUS ZERO INFLATION IN THE HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT Part III The regulatory sources of monetary disorder 9 ARE BANKING CRISES FREE-MARKET PHENOMENA? 10 LEGAL RESTRICTIONS, FINANCIAL WEAKENING, AND THE LENDER OF LAST RESORT 11 IN DEFENSE OF BANK SUSPENSION 2 BANK-LENDING “MANIAS” IN THEORY AND HISTORY

    Biography

    George Selgin is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Georgia