Modern paper currency contributes little to productive investment. This shortcoming is not inherent to paper money. It stems from the fact that such money is monopolistically supplied by public monetary authorities that are poor intermediaries. Commercial banknotes, in contrast, are just as...

As the 100th anniversary of the 1913 Federal Reserve Act approaches, we assess whether the nation’s experiment with the Federal Reserve has been a success or a failure. Drawing on a wide range of recent empirical research, we find the following: (1) The Fed’s full history (1914 to present)...