Money and Banking Under Laissez-Faire Capitalism

This talk examines the development, operation and performance of monetary systems in the absence of government intervention.

by George Selgin | Dec 3, 2016 | Money & Banking

This talk examines the development, operation and performance of monetary systems in the absence of government intervention. Topics covered include the spontaneous evolution of money, the rise of banks, bank self-regulation under competition and crisis management in the absence of a central bank. Recorded at OCON 2015.

George Selgin

George Selgin is a Professor of Economics at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business. He is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. His writings also appear on www.freebanking.org. His research covers a broad range of topics within the field of monetary economics, including monetary history, macroeconomic theory, and the history of monetary thought. He is the author of The Theory of Free Banking, Bank Deregulation and Monetary Order, and several other books. He holds a B.A. in economics and zoology from Drew University, and a Ph.D. in economics from New York University.

The views represent those of the author and not necessarily those of Capitalism Magazine.

RELATED ARTICLES

The Fed’s Fatal Conceit

The Fed’s Fatal Conceit

In my experience, the Federal Reserve is guilty of what F. A. Hayek (1989) called “‘the fatal conceit”–that is, the belief that smart people can do the impossible. I don’t care how smart you are or how great your mathematical models are, you cannot coordinate the economic activity of seven billion people on this planet.