All posts in category Gold Standard

Milton Friedman on exchange rate policy #6

Gold standard?

The last remnants of the global gold standard system died when the Bretton Woods agreement collapsed in 1971, but the notion of a global currency system based on a gold standard occasionally pops up in both general and academic debates, especially in the USA.

Friedman was never any great proponent of the gold standard or other goods-based currency systems. He sees a gold standard system as neither possible nor desirable in a today’s world: undesirable because its reintroduction would imply enormous costs in connection with purchasing gold, and not possible because the “mythology” that surrounded the gold standard in the nineteenth century no longer exists. In the nineteenth century everyone expected changes in the money supply to be determined by developments in the price of gold, and that money and gold were close substitutes. Today, we expect the central bank – not gold – to ensure the value of our money. A reintroduction of the gold standard would require a shift in this perception.

In the nineteenth century the gold standard ensured low (or more correctly no) inflation for long periods of time. On the other hand, prices fluctuated considerably from year to year as gold production rose and fell. According to Friedman this was possible because the goods and labour markets were much more flexible at that time than now. Any attempt to reintroduce the gold standard now would result in exactly the same negative outcomes as a fixed exchange rate policy.

Despite the global gold standard having been abandoned many years ago, most central banks continue to own large amounts of gold. Friedman’s view is that one should fully acknowledge the end of the gold standard system and auction off the gold reserves of the central banks.

This concludes my little series on Milton Friedman’s view on FX policy. See the other posts here:

Milton Friedman on exchange rate policy #1
Milton Friedman on exchange rate policy #2
Milton Friedman on exchange rate policy #3
Milton Friedman on exchange rate policy #4
Milton Friedman on exchange rate policy #5

2 Comments
by Lars Christensen on November 2, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Exchange rate policy, Exchange rates, Gold Standard, Milton Friedman, MM Research agenda, Uncategorized
Tagged , , ,

Posted by Lars Christensen on November 2, 2011

https://marketmonetarist.com/2011/11/02/milton-friedman-on-exchange-rate-policy-6/

80 years ago – history keeps repeating itself

Scott Sumner has a excellent post on events 80 years ago and the comparison with the situation today.

I share Scott’s view of the dismal situation 80 years ago and today.

See my posts on the issue from last week here and here.

Leave a comment
by Lars Christensen on November 2, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Banking crisis, Economic and monetary history, euro crisis, Gold Standard, MM Research agenda, Reading recommendations, Scott Sumner, The Great Depression, The Great Recession
Tagged , , ,

Posted by Lars Christensen on November 2, 2011

https://marketmonetarist.com/2011/11/02/80-years-ago-history-keeps-repeating-itself/

“Chinese Silver Standard Economy and the 1929 Great Depression”

Only two major countries – China and Spain – were not on the Gold Standard at the onset of the Great Depression in 1929. As a consequence both countries avoided the most negative consequences of the Great Depression. That is a forcefully demonstration of how the “wrong” exchange rate regimes can mean disaster, but also a reminder of Milton Friedman’s dictum never to underestimate the importance of luck.

I have recently found this interesting paper by

Cheng-chung Lai and Joshua Jr-shiang Gau on the “Chinese Silver Standard Economy  and the 1929 Great Depression”. Here is the abstract for you:

“It is often said that the silver standard had insulated the Chinese economy from the Great Depression that prevailed in the gold standard countries during the 1929-35 period. Using econometric testing and counterfactual simulations, we show that if China had been on the gold standard (or on the gold-exchange standard), the balance of trade of this semi-closed economy would have been ameliorated, but the general price level would have declined significantly. Due to limited statistics, two important factors (the GDP and industrial production level) are not included in the analysis, but the general argument that the silver standard was a lifeboat to the Chinese economy remains defensible.”

If anybody has knowledge of research on Spanish monetary policy during the Great Depression I would be very interested hearing from you (lacsen@gmail.com).

PS Today I have received Douglas Irwin’s latest book “Trade Policy Disaster: Lessons From the 1930s” in the mail. I look forward to reading it and sharing the conclusions with my readers. But I already know a bit about the conclusion: Countries that stayed longer on the Gold Standard were more protectionist than countries with more flexible exchange rate regimes. This fits with Milton Friedman’s views – see here and here.

14 Comments
by Lars Christensen on October 29, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in China, Exchange rate policy, Exchange rates, Gold Standard, Milton Friedman
Tagged , , , ,

Posted by Lars Christensen on October 29, 2011

https://marketmonetarist.com/2011/10/29/chinese-silver-standard-economy-and-the-1929-great-depression/

Newer Posts »