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Money's unique and essential role in a free market and monetary disequilibrium as the root cause of the business cycle are principles central to the work of economist Leland Yeager. For three decades he has extolled the pre-eminent importance of money as a source of economic fluctuations whose influence goes well beyond mere changes in interest rates or the price level. Yeager's work discloses the disruptive consequences of 'monetary disequilibrium', or an imbalance of money supply and money demand. Consequently, he argues that well-designed monetary arrangements and policies are important to the success of any free-market economic system. Similarly, he insists that defects in the existing monetary arrangements in 'capitalist' countries are manifestly not inherent in capitalism but are 'alterable consequences' of the misguided or even mischievous interventions of government. The eighteen essays address four general topics: Monetary Disequilibrium and Its Consequences; Monetary Misconceptions; Keynesianism and Other Diversions; and Avoiding Monetary Disequilibrium. In his introduction, Professor George Selgin explains why "our understanding of the monetary foundations of a free society owes a great deal to the writings of Leland Yeager."
List of contents
Introduction: the significance of Leland Yeager's monetary writings. Part 1 Monetary disequilibrium and its consequences: "A Cash-Balance Interpretation of Depression" (1956); "Monetarism" (1971); "The Costs, Sources and Control of Inflation" (1981). Part 2 Monetary misconceptions: "Essential Properties of the Medium of Exchange" (1968); "What Are Banks?" (1978); "Individual and Overall Viewpoints in Monetary Theory" (1982); "Inflation, Output and Employment: Some Clarification" (1982); "Money and Credit Confused: An Appraisal of Economic Doctrine and Federal Reserve Procedure" (1986). Part 3 Keynesianism and other diversions: "The Keynesian Diversion" (1973); "The Significance of Monetary Disequilibrium" (1986); "Injection Effects and Monetary Intermediation" (1990); "New Keynesians and Old Monetarists" (1991). Part 4 Avoiding monetary disequilibrium: "Monetary Policy: Before and After the Freeze" (1971); "Stable Money and Free-Market Currencies" (1983); "A Laissez-Faire Approach to Monetary Stability" (1983); "Deregulation and Monetary Reform" (1985); "A Real-GNP Dollar" (1989); "Can Monetary Disequilibrium Be Eliminated?" (1989).
About the author
Leland B Yeager
Summary
Contains essays which address four topics: Monetary Disequilibrium and Its Consequences; Monetary Misconceptions; Keynesianism and Other Diversions; and Avoiding Monetary Disequilibrium.
