Blog - Page 3 of 15 - Philosophy of Money

MMT part III – conclusion, and a conversation with Ben Bernanke

20th October 2017

Definitions of Money, Economic History, Monetary Policy, Theory & Other Problems

My last two blogs have revisited the issue of whether or not base money is a liability of the state. The issue played a central role in a discussion over the future of monetary policy at the Brussels think-tank...

MMT part II: a synthesis, an olive branch, and a defence of Twitter

Eric Lonergan

11th October 2017

Definitions of Money, Economic History, Monetary Policy, Theory & Other Problems

26

This is a short follow-up to my previous post, ‘MMT - sophistry or substance?’, and Simon Wren-Lewis’s ‘Why is MMT so popular?'. Summarising, I suggest the two defining characteristics of MMT are: (1) a theo...

MMT: school of thought or set of personalities?

Eric Lonergan

7th October 2017

Definitions of Money, Economic History, Monetary Policy, Theory & Other Problems

28

MMT revisited Simon Wren-Lewis’s recent post on why MMT is so popular makes a number of important points. The Twitter response to Simon’s post was fairly representative - to its credit, MMT has a committed c...

Raising rates is a stimulus

Eric Lonergan

4th October 2017

Helicopter Money, Monetary Policy, Theory & Other Problems

There are two broad categories of monetary policy instrument: 1) measures which are aimed at influencing market interest rates, and 2) transfers from the central bank to the private sector. ‘Conventional’ m...

Money and language

Eric Lonergan

17th September 2017

Definitions of Money, Theory & Other Problems

8

The great Scottish philosopher David Hume may have been the first to understand that the economics of money is closest to that of language. Money is one of the most essential social conventions, the other t...

Language and money

Eric Lonergan

17th September 2017

Definitions of Money, Theory & Other Problems

Language is perhaps the most useful social convention, followed by law. Words are exchanged by humans to coordinate action, express thoughts and feelings, and to entertain. It is difficult to imagine much human...

More on Bitcoin (Part I)

Eric Lonergan

15th September 2017

Definitions of Money, Helicopter Money

1

Bitcoin proves that the 'interest' paid by central banks on bank reserves (IOR) is not an "interest rate" but a helicopter drop to banks. Imagine that Bitcoin came with an additional feature, that all holders o...

Intelligent money & valuing Bitcoin

Eric Lonergan

10th September 2017

Definitions of Money, Helicopter Money, Monetary Policy

12

The most significant innovation in Bitcoin is not blockchain, nor the fact that it is a non-state-backed electronic currency. It is truly ground-breaking because it is the first 'intelligent' money. An 'intelli...

Democracy and minority rule

Eric Lonergan

9th July 2017

Theory & Other Problems

4

Democracy is an attempt to provide legitimacy for law-making and government. Legitimacy resides in obtaining the consent of those affected by decisions. Democracy is also a practical process - of public debate,...

Secular stability

Eric Lonergan

22nd June 2017

Economic History, Theory & Other Problems

1

The defining characteristic of US economic data since the financial crisis is not stagnation, but stability. We all look back on the Great Moderation with incredulity at the hubris of economists. But has realit...

MMT part III – conclusion, and a conversation with Ben Bernanke

MMT part II: a synthesis, an olive branch, and a defence of Twitter

MMT: school of thought or set of personalities?

Raising rates is a stimulus

Money and language

Language and money

More on Bitcoin (Part I)

Intelligent money & valuing Bitcoin

Democracy and minority rule

Secular stability

Reviews of Eric’s book

CNBC: market sell-off is ‘noise’

Monetary policy & babysitting: why rates are so low, and ‘what’s next?’