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Informationen zum Autor Kevin Dowd Klappentext The idea of free (or laissez-faire) banking has enjoyed a remarkable renaissance in recent years. It is a novel idea that challenges much of what many banking scholars still take for granted - that banking is inherently unstable, that the banking system needs a lender of last resort or deposit insurance to defend it in a crisis, and that the Government has to protect the value of the currency. Against this free banking sets an argument which is in essence very simple: if markets are generally better at allocating resources than governments, then what is different about money and the industry that provides it and why? "Laissez-Faire Banking" is divided into three inter-related sections, dealing with the theory of free banking, historical experiences of it and present-day monetary and banking reforms based on free banking principles. Zusammenfassung This documents the revival of free banking in recent years, combining chapters on the theory of laissez-faire banking, the historical experience of it and the solutions it might offer to current banking crises. Inhaltsverzeichnis Part 1 Free-Banking Theory: Automatic Stabilizing Mechanism Under Free Banking; Option Clauses and the Stability of a Laissez-Faire Monetary System; Monetary Freedom and Monetary Stability; Is Banking a Natural Monopoly?; Models of Banking Instability. Part 2 Historical Experience: Australian Free Banking; US Banking in the Free Banking Period; Money and Banking: The American Experience; Did Central Banks Evolve Naturally?; The Evolution of Central Banking in England, 1821-1890; The Evolution of Central Banking in England: A Reply to My Critics. Part 3 Monetary and Banking Reform: Stopping Inflation; Does Europe Need a Federal Reserve System?; Evaluating the Hard Ecu; The US Banking Crisis: The Way Out.
