In their recent article in the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, Bagus and Howden (2010) present “quibbles” with fractional reserve free banking. Or specifically, what they call “unaddressed issues” in this system, with a particular emphasis on Selgin (1988). We deem their...

The Theory of Money and Credit (1912) is rightly regarded as a seminal book in the development of the Austrian school approach to monetary theory. We argue that Mises' understanding of the equation of exchange differs from both of the conventional textbook versions, and warrants recognition as...

The challenge of rendering monetary exchange intelligible within a Walrasian general equilibrium framework is well known. Perhaps less well known is the difficulty of integrating monetary and exchange economies in decentralized conceptions of equilibrium, of which the evenly rotating economy of...

Monies are typically categorized as commodity or fiat, depending on whether the item in question is intrinsically worthless. In the case of bitcoin, it is not so clear. I consider the superficial subjective value argument often put forward by non-monetary economists and a more sophisticated...

This paper addresses the perspective of Hayek's doctrine on monetary arrangements in the economy and his favorable argument for an international central bank over national central bank. I also discussed Hayek's view on free banking (i.e. for the free issue of bank notes) that would enable the...

Friedrich Hayek is often credited with the resurgence of interest in alternative monetary systems. His own proposal, however, received sharp criticism from Milton Friedman, Stanley Fischer, and others at the outset and never gained much support among academic economists or the wider population....

In a recent article, George Pickering (2019) has taken issue with my work regarding the two potential ways one might deal with the regression theorem in light of bitcoin. Specifically, he argues that I misinterpret 'the purpose and requirements of the regression theorem' (p. 608). His critical...

The success of bitcoin as a medium of exchange poses a problem for the traditional Austrian view on the emergence of money. In particular, it casts doubt on the regression theorem of Ludwig von Mises, which implies that an item cannot gain acceptance as a medium of exchange without government...

Following the 2008/09 financial crisis renewed attention has been given to the ability of central banks to effectively monitor the quantity of money in circulation. We present a new definition of the money supply called “Austrian money supply” (MA) and apply it to the UK economy. Unlike...

The 2008/09 financial crisis and subsequent recession has created renewed attention to UK monetary aggregates. This discussion paper argues that although measures of the money supply are crucial to understanding the economy, existing approaches are flawed: "Notes and Coin" is too narrow, and M4...