This classic set of essays by Nobel Laureate and leading monetary theorist Milton Friedman presents a coherent view of the role of money, focusing on specific topics related to the empirical analysis of monetary phenomena and policy. The early chapters cover factors determining the real quantity of money held in a community and the welfare implications of policies that affect the quantity held. The following chapters formally restate why quantity analysis has become central to the science of economics. Friedman's presidential address to the American Economic Association, included here, provides a general summary of his views on the role of monetary policy, with an emphasis on its limitations and its possibilities. This theoretical framework is used in examining a number of empirical problems: the demand for money, the explanation of price changes in wartime periods, and the role of money in business cycles. These essays summarize some of the most important results of Friedman's extensive research over the course of his lifetime. The chapters on policy that follow survey the positions of earlier economists and deal with the importance of lags and the implications of destabilizing speculation in foreign markets. Taken as a whole, "The Optimum Quantity of Money" provides a comprehensive view of the body of monetary theory developed in leading centers of monetary analysis. This work is essential reading for economists and graduate students in the field. The volume will be no less important for practicing business and banking personnel as well. The new statement by Michael Bordo, a student of Friedman's and an expert in the field, provides a sense of where the field now stands in the economy and academy. Milton Friedman is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. Before that, he was Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. He has also taught at Columbia University, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Minnesota, and Cambridge University. Among his many books are "Essays in Positive Economics," "A Program for Monetary Stability," "Capitalism and Freedom," and "A Monetary History of the United States." Michael D. Bordo is professor of economics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and author, with Lars Jonung, of, among other works, "Demand for Money."

This classic set of essays by Nobel Laureate and leading monetary theorist Milton Friedman presents a coherent view of the role of money, focusing on specific topics related to the empirical analysis of monetary phenomena and policy. The early chapters cover factors determining the real quantity of money held in a community and the welfare implications of policies that affect the quantity held. The following chapters formally restate why quantity analysis has become central to the science of economics. Friedman's presidential address to the American Economic Association, included here, provides a general summary of his views on the role of monetary policy, with an emphasis on its limitations and its possibilities. This theoretical framework is used in examining a number of empirical problems: the demand for money, the explanation of price changes in wartime periods, and the role of money in business cycles. These essays summarize some of the most important results of Friedman's extensive research over the course of his lifetime. The chapters on policy that follow survey the positions of earlier economists and deal with the importance of lags and the implications of destabilizing speculation in foreign markets. Taken as a whole, The Optimum Quantity of Money provides a comprehensive view of the body of monetary theory developed in leading centers of monetary analysis. This work is essential reading for economists and graduate students in the field. The volume will be no less important for practicing business and banking personnel as well. The new statement by Michael Bordo, a student of Friedman's and an expert in the field, provides a sense of where the field now stands in the economy and academy.

Before his untimely death in 2000, the brilliant young Israeli economic historian Klug conducted a thorough survey into the different theories of international trade. The results of this are now available here for the first time with an introduction from Warren Young and Michael Bordo.

Utilizing the inter-temporal open economy model as a case study, Theories of International Trade illuminates the phenomenon of recurrence and the problem of recurring doctrines in economic thought and analysis. This compelling book will be of interest to scholars in the history of economic thought, and to international economists in general.

This major reference collection presents in an accessible form the key articles and papers on the theory and history of financial crises. It includes both classic and contemporary writings on domestic financial crises, the transmission of crises between countries and the resolution of crises by both private and government authorities acting as lender of last resort.The book is divided into five sections. Section I on theories of financial crises presents two rival approaches to financial crises; the monetarist approach and the Fisher-Kindleberger-Minsky approach. It also includes recent Rational Expectations approaches. Section II contains readings on financial crises in US history while Section III presents case studies for other countries. Section IV contains readings on the international transmission of financial crises. Section V concludes with a number of articles on the resolution of financial crises. Financial crises have been a topic of perennial interest - perhaps as old as economic science. This landmark book makes a singular contribution by presenting the most significant literature on this important topic in an accessible form.

Before his untimely death in 2000, the brilliant young Israeli economic historian Klug conducted a thorough survey into the different theories of international trade. The results of this are now available here for the first time with an introduction from Warren Young and Michael Bordo.

Utilizing the inter-temporal open economy model as a case study, Theories of International Trade illuminates the phenomenon of recurrence and the problem of recurring doctrines in economic thought and analysis. This compelling book will be of interest to scholars in the history of economic thought, and to international economists in general.

This paper analyzes the role of transparency and credibility in accounting for the widely divergent macroeconomic effects of three episodes of deliberate monetary contraction: the post-Civil War deflation, the post-WWI deflation, and the Volcker disinflation. Using a dynamic general equilibrium model in which private agents use optimal filtering to infer the central bank's nominal anchor, we demonstrate that the salient features of these three historical episodes can be explained by differences in the design and transparency of monetary policy, even without any time variation in economic structure or model parameters. For a policy regime with relatively high credibility, our analysis highlights the benefits of a gradualist approach (as in the 1870s) rather than a sudden change in policy (as in 1920-21). In contrast, for a policy institution with relatively low credibility (such as the Federal Reserve in late 1980), an aggressive policy stance can play an important signalling role by making the policy shift more evident to private agents.