The Money View Reading Group reads and discusses writings (mostly books) on money, banking, and finance. We are a self-directed group. Anyone interested in money and banking can read the readings, join us for discussions, or suggest future readings.

We usually meet via Zoom every other Tuesday at 12 pm Eastern Time US (New York).

https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Central-Banks-Financial-Capitalism/dp/0674270517/

From the description:

While central banks have gained remarkable influence over the past fifty years, promising more stability, global finance has gone from crisis to crisis. How do we explain this development? Drawing on original sources ignored in previous research, The Rise of Central Banks offers a groundbreaking account of the origins and consequences of central banks’ increasing clout over economic policy.

• 2024-04-02 — Discussion Session 1 (Ch 1–3) (Recording)
• 2024-04-23 — Discussion Session 2 (Ch 4–6) (Recording)

https://www.amazon.com/Money-Illusion-Monetarism-Recession-Monetary/dp/0226826562/

From the description:

Forgoing the usual relitigating of problems such as housing markets and banking crises, renowned monetary economist Scott Sumner argues that the Great Recession came down to one thing: nominal GDP, the sum of all nominal spending in the economy, which the Federal Reserve erred in allowing to plummet. The Money Illusion is an end-to-end case for this school of thought, known as market monetarism, written by its leading voice in economics. Based almost entirely on standard macroeconomic concepts, this highly accessible text lays the groundwork for a simple yet fundamentally radical understanding of how monetary policy can work best: providing a stable environment for a market economy to flourish.

During this off week, we read a chapter from the April 2024 Global Financial Stability Report: “Chapter 2: The Rise and Risks of Private Credit.”

https://www.imf.org/-/media/Files/Publications/GFSR/2024/April/English/ch2.ashx

Chapter 2 assesses vulnerabilities and potential risks to financial stability in private credit, a rapidly growing asset class—traditionally focused on providing loans to mid-sized firms outside the realms of either commercial banks or public debt markets—that now rivals other major credit markets in size.

Leon Wansleben joins us to discuss his 2023 book The Rise of Central Banks: State Power in Financial Capitalism.

We discuss the Introduction and Parts I and II (Chapters 1–9) of Scott Sumner’s The Money Illusion.

Introduction: The Real Problem was Nominal

Part I: The Value of Money Chapter 1: Cognitive Illusions in Economics Chapter 2: The Value of Money and Money Illusion Chapter 3: What Determines the Value of Money? Chapter 4: The Quantity Theory of Money and the Great Inflation Chapter 5: Money at the Extremes: Hyperinflation and Deflation Chapter 6: It’s (Almost) All about Expectations

Part II: The Dance of the Dollar Chapter 7: The Great Depression and the AS-AD Model Chapter 8: One Derivative beyond Hume Chapter 9: Rational Expectations and Efficient Markets

We discuss the Introduction and Parts III and IV (Chapters 10–16) of Scott Sumner’s The Money Illusion.

Part III: Never Reason from a Price Change Chapter 10: The Musical-Chairs Model Chapter 11: What Is Monetary Policy Chapter 12: Nominal and Real Exchange Rates

Part IV: How to Think about Macroeconomics Chapter 13: The Path to Market Monetarism Chapter 14: I See Dead Patterns Chapter 15: Good Economists Don’t Forecast, They Infer Market Forecasts Chatper 16: The Secret History of Monetary Policy

We discuss the Introduction and Parts V and VI (Chapters 17–22) of Scott Sumner’s The Money Illusion.

Part V: The Great Recession Chapter 17: Fed Policy in 2008: A Case of Self-Induced Paralysis? Chapter 18: A Confession of Contractionary Effect Chapter 19: Schadenfreude on the Titanic Chapter 20: Alternative Explanations of the Great Recession

Part VI: What Does It All Mean? Chapter 21: Policy Implications of Market Monetarism Chapter 22: Why Should You Believe in Market Monetarism?

• An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial Models Shape Markets by Donald MacKenzie (2007)
• Capitalizing on Crisis: The Political Origins of the Rise of Finance by Greta Krippner (2011)
• The Wheels of Commerce by Fernand Braudel (selected chapters) (1979/1982)
• Introduction to Central Banking by Ulrich Bindseil and Alessio Fota (2021)
• The Arena of International Finance by Charles Coombs (1976)
• Central Banking Before 1800: A Rehabilitation by Ulrich Bindseil (2019)
• The Chairman: John J. McCloy & The Making of the American Establishment by Kai Bird (1992)

• Minsky by Daniel H. Neilson (2019)
  2021-03-24 — Discussion Session 1
  2021-03-31 — Discussion Session 2
  2021-04-07 — Discussion with Daniel Neilson
• The Art of Central Banking (Chapter IV) by Ralph Hawtrey (1933)
  2021-04-21 — Discussion Session 1
  2021-05-05 — Discussion Session 2
  2021-05-26 — Discussion with David Glasner
• BIS Working Paper: Breaking free of the triple coincidence in international finance (2015)
  2021-05-19 — Discussion Session
• Making Money: Coin, Currency, and the Coming of Capitalism by Christine Desan (2014)
  2021-06-02 — Discussion Session 1
  2021-06-16 — Discussion Session 2
  2021-06-30 — Discussion Session 3
  2021-07-14 — Discussion with Christine Desan
• Global Domain of the Dollar: 8 Questions by Robert McCauley
  2021-07-07 — Discussion with Robert McCauley
• Money in a Theory of Finance by John G. Gurley, Edward S. Shaw (1960)
  2021-07-21 — Discussion Session 1
  2021-08-04 — Discussion Session 2
  2021-08-18 — Discussion Session 3
• BIS and Bank of England reports on Central Bank Digital Currencies
  2021-07-28 — Discussion Session
• The World in Depression, 1929-1939 by Charles P. Kindleberger (1973)
  2021-09-01 — Discussion Session 1
  2021-09-15 — Discussion Session 2
  2021-09-29 — Discussion Session 3
• The Rise of Carry by Jamie Lee et al (2019)
  2021-10-13 — Discussion Session 1
  2021-10-27 — Discussion Session 2
• The Money Interest and the Public Interest by Perry Mehrling (1998)
  2021-11-10 — Discussion Session 1 | Allyn Young
  2021-11-24 — Discussion Session 2 | Alvin Hanson
  2021-12-08 — Discussion Session 3 | Edward Shaw
• Controlling Credit by Eric Monnet (2018)
  2022-01-05 — Discussion Session 1
  2022-01-19 — Discussion Session 2
• The Menace of Fiscal QE by George Selgin (2020)
  2022-02-02 — Discussion Session
• The New Lombard Street by Perry Mehrling (2011)
  2022-02-23 — Discussion Session 1
  2022-03-09 — Discussion Session 2
  2022-03-23 — Discussion Session 3
• Fighting Financial Crises: Learning from the Past by Gary Gorton, Ellis Tallman (2021)
  2022-04-20 — Discussion Session 1
  2022-05-11 — Discussion Session 2
• Money and empire: The international gold standard, 1890-1914 by Marcello De Cecco (1974)
  2022-05-25 — Discussion Session 1
  2022-06-15 — Discussion Session 2
• Central Bank Cooperation 1924-31 by Stephen Clarke (1967)
  2022-06-22 — Discussion Session 1
  2022-07-06 — Discussion Session 2
• The Money Problem: Rethinking Financial Regulation by Morgan Ricks (2016)
  2022-07-27 — Discussion Session 1
  2022-08-10 — Discussion Session 2
  2022-08-17 — Discussion with Morgan Ricks
• The Crypto Banking System by Sébastien Derivaux (2022)
  2022-09-28 — Discussion with Sébastien Derivaux
• The Evolution of Central Banking: Theory and History by Stefano Ugolini (2017)
  2022-08-24 — Discussion Session 1
  2022-09-07 — Discussion Session 2
  2022-09-21 — Discussion Session 3
  2022-10-05 — Discussion with Stefano Ugolini
• A Financial History of Western Europe by Charles P. Kindleberger (1984, 1993)
  2022-10-19 — Discussion Session 1 | Part 1: Money
  2022-11-02 — Discussion Session 2 | Part 2: Banking
  2022-11-16 — Discussion Session 3 | Part 3: Finance
  2023-01-11 — Discussion Session 4 | Part 4: The Interwar Period
  2023-01-18 — Discussion Session 5 | Part 5: After World War II
• Money and Empire: Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System by Perry Mehrling (2022)
  2022-11-30 — Discussion Session 1 | Part 1: Intellectual Formation, 1910–1948
  2022-12-14 — Discussion Session 2 | Part 2: International Economist, 1948–1976
  2022-12-21 — Discussion Session 3 | Part 3: Historical Economist, 1976–2003
  2022-12-21 — Discussion #1 with Perry Mehrling
  2023-01-04 — Discussion #2 with Perry Mehrling
• Bonds without Borders: A History of the Eurobond Market by Chris O’Malley (2015)
  2023-02-15 — Discussion Session 1
  2023-03-01 — Discussion Session 2
• Monetary Policy Operations and the Financial System by Ulrich Bindseil (2014)
  2023-03-15 — Discussion Session 1 (Ch 1-8)
  2023-03-29 — Discussion Session 2 (Ch 9-12)
  2023-04-12 — Discussion Session 3 (Ch 13-18)
• Capital Wars: The Rise of Global Liquidity by Michael J. Howell (2020)
  2023-04-26 — Discussion Session 1 (Ch 1-7)
  2023-05-10 — Discussion Session 2 (Ch 8-14)
• A Market Theory of Money by John Hicks (1989)
  2023-05-24 — Discussion Session 1 (Ch 1-7)
  2023-06-07 — Discussion Session 2 (Ch 8-15)
• The Currency of Politics: The Political Theory of Money from Aristotle to Keynes by Stefan Eich (2022)
  2023-06-28 — Discussion Session 1 (Ch 1 & 2)
  2023-07-19 — Discussion Session 2 (Ch 3 & 4)
  2023-08-02 — Discussion Session 3 (Ch 5 & 6)
  2023-08-14 — Discussion with Stefan Eich
• Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance by Perry Mehrling (2005)
  2023-08-22 — Discussion Session 1 (Ch 1–5)
  2023-09-05 — Discussion Session 2 (Ch 6–8)
  2023-09-19 — Discussion Session 3 (Ch 9–11)
  2023-09-26 — Discussion with Perry Mehrling
• The Evolution of Central Banks by Charles Goodhart (1988)
  2023-10-03 — Discussion Session 1 (Ch 1–6)
  2023-10-17 — Discussion Session 2 (Ch 7–8, Appendix)
• The Repo Market: Shorts, Shortages, and Squeezes by Scott Skyrm (2023)
  2023-11-07 — Discussion Session 1 (pages 1–92)
  2023-11-21 — Discussion Session 2 (pages 93–186)
  2023-12-05 — Discussion Session 3 (pages 187–310) Part 1 — Part 2
  2023-12-12 — Discussion with Scott Skyrm From 39:20
• The Volatility Machine: Emerging Economies and the Threat of Financial Collapse by Michael Pettis (2001)
  2023-12-19 — Discussion Session 1 (Ch 1–5)
  2024-01-02 — Discussion Session 2 (Ch 6–10)
  2024-01-09 — Discussion with Michael Pettis
• International Capital Movements by Charles P. Kindleberger (1987)
  2024-01-16 — Discussion Session 1 (Ch 1 & 2)
  2024-01-30 — Discussion Session 2 (Ch 3 & 4)
• A Political Theory of Money by Anush Kapadia (2024)
  2024-02-20 — Discussion Session 1 (Ch 1–4)
  2024-03-05 — Discussion Session 2 (Ch 5–7)
  2024-03-19 — Discussion Session 3 (Ch 8–12)
  2024-03-26 — Discussion with Anush Kapadia

2023-04-05 Discussion of Silicon Valley Bank
2023-04-19 Institutional Cash Pools by Zoltan Pozsar (2011)
2023-05-03 BIS Bulletin #73: Stablecoins vs. Tokenized Deposits (May 3, 2023)
2023-07-05 The Credit–Money Hierarchy: a Republican , Egalitarian Appraisal by Aaron James (2023)
2023-07-26 Public Purpose Finance: The Government’s Role as Lender by Nadav Orian Peer (2020)
2023-10-24 Money and the Public Debt by Lev Menand and Joshua Younger (2023) | 1
2023-10-31 Money and the Public Debt by Lev Menand and Joshua Younger (2023) | 2
2023-11-14 ICMA Repo FAQ by Richard Comotto (2013/2019)
2023-11-28 Basis Trades and Treasury Market Illiquidity by Daniel Barth & Jay Kahn (2020)
2024-01-23 Capital flows and the current account by Borio and Disyatat (2015)
2024-02-13 The dual currency system of Renaissance Europe by Luca Fantacci (2008)
2024-02-27 BIS: Buy now, pay later: a cross-country analysis by Cornelli et al. (2023)
2024-03-12 The non-use of money in the Middle Ages by Bell, Brooks, and Moore (2017)
2024-04-09 The Central Role of Credit Crunches in Recent Financial History by Albert M. Wojnilower (1980)
2023-04-16 Measuring Equilibrium in the Balance of Payments by Charles P. Kindleberger (1969)