Money View Reading Group
Reading Group
January 2021 - January 2024
Join the Money View Reading Group to explore various works from the money view perspective.
Webinar Series
Description
Money View Reading Group
Join the Money View Reading Group to explore various works from the money view perspective. The standing meeting time is Wednesdays at 12:00pm EDT / 4:00pm GMT / 6:00 pm CET.
Current Readings
- Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance by Perry Mehrling (2005)
- The Evolution of Central Banks by Charles Goodhart (1988)
Past Readings
- Minsky by Daniel H. Neilson (2019)
- The Art of Central Banking (Chapter IV) by Ralph Hawtrey (1933)
- Making Money: Coin, Currency, and the Coming of Capitalism by Christine Desan (2014)
- BIS Working Paper: Breaking free of the triple coincidence in international finance (2015)
- Money in a Theory of Finance by John G. Gurley, Edward S. Shaw (1960)
- The World in Depression, 1929-1939 by Charles P. Kindleberger (1973)
- The Rise of Carry by Jamie Lee et al (2019)
- The Money Interest and the Public Interest by Perry Mehrling (1998)
- Controlling Credit by Eric Monnet (2018)
- The Menace of Fiscal QE by George Selgin (2020)
- The New Lombard Street by Perry Mehrling (2011)
- Fighting Financial Crises: Learning from the Past by Gary Gorton, Ellis Tallman (2021)
- Money and empire: The international gold standard, 1890-1914 by Marcello De Cecco (1974)
- Central Bank Cooperation 1924-31 by Stephen Clarke (1967)
- The Money Problem: Rethinking Financial Regulation by Morgan Ricks (2016)
- Article: The Crypto Banking System by Sébastien Derivaux (2022)
- The Evolution of Central Banking: Theory and History by Stefano Ugolini (2017)
- A Financial History of Western Europe by Charles P. Kindleberger (1984, 1993)
- Money and Empire: Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System by Perry Mehrling (2022)
- Bonds without Borders: A History of the Eurobond Market by Chris O’Malley (2015)
- Monetary Policy Operations and the Financial System by Ulrich Bindseil (2014)
- Capital Wars: The Rise of Global Liquidity by Michael J. Howell (2020)
- A Market Theory of Money by John Hicks (1989)
- The Currency of Politics: The Political Theory of Money from Aristotle to Keynes by Stefan Eich (2022)
Future Suggested Readings
- The Repo Market, Shorts, Shortages, and Squeezes by Scott Skyrm (2023)
- The Volatility Machine: Emerging Economics and the Threat of Financial Collapse by Michael Pettis (2001)
- The Money Illusion by Scott Sumner (2021)
- 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)
UPCOMING EVENTS
There are no upcoming events in this project.
PAST EVENTS
Webinar
Online26 Sep 2023
Fischer Black | Discussion with Perry Mehrling
Perry Mehrling joins us to revisit and discuss his 2005 book Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance. https://www.amazon.com/Fischer-Black-Revolutionary-Idea-Finance/dp/1118203569/ From Mehrling's Amazon Author Page: My second book, Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance (Wiley 2005), tells the story of the rise of modern finance, both as a set of ideas and as a set of institutions, that transformed the monetary landscape starting in about 1970.
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Online19 Sep 2023
Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance | Session 3
This is the last of three sessions on Perry Mehrling's 2005 book Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance. https://www.amazon.com/Fischer-Black-Revolutionary-Idea-Finance/dp/1118203569/ From Mehrling's Amazon Author Page: My second book, Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance (Wiley 2005), tells the story of the rise of modern finance, both as a set of ideas and as a set of institutions, that transformed the monetary landscape starting in about 1970. This week, we discuss chapters 9 through 11 and the epilogue Chapter 9: Changing Fields Chapter 10: What Do Traders Do? Chapter 11: Exploring General Equilibrium Epilogue: Nothing Is Constant Focus especially on the Epilogue pages 286–291, which discuss "the deeper philosophical bases" of Fischer's intepretation of CAPM.
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Online5 Sep 2023
Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance | Session 2
This is the second of three sessions on Perry Mehrling's 2005 book Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance. https://www.amazon.com/Fischer-Black-Revolutionary-Idea-Finance/dp/1118203569/ From Mehrling's Amazon Author Page: My second book, Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance (Wiley 2005), tells the story of the rise of modern finance, both as a set of ideas and as a set of institutions, that transformed the monetary landscape starting in about 1970. This week, we discuss chapters 6 through 8. Chapter 6: The Money Wars Chapter 7: Global Reach Chapter 8: Stagflation
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Online22 Aug 2023
Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance | Session 1
This is the first of three sessions on Perry Mehrling's 2005 book Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance. https://www.amazon.com/Fischer-Black-Revolutionary-Idea-Finance/dp/1118203569/ From Mehrling's Amazon Author Page: My second book, Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance (Wiley 2005), tells the story of the rise of modern finance, both as a set of ideas and as a set of institutions, that transformed the monetary landscape starting in about 1970. This week, we discuss the prologue and the first five chapters: Prologue: The Price of Risk Chapter 1: Thou Living Ray of Intellectual Fire Chapter 2: An Idea in the Rough Chapter 3: Some Kind of Education Chapter 4: Living Up to the Model Chapter 5: Tortuous Economic Intuition Focus especially on Chapter 3 pages 93–98 "where the essentials of Fischer's interpretation of CAPM are laid out." These pages discuss the automatic portfolio rebalancing scenario that Mehrling presents in Lecture 22.
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Online16 Aug 2023
The Currency of Politics | Discussion with Stefan Eich
After having read Stefan Eich's The Currency of Politics: The Political Theory of Money from Aristotle to Keynes we host a discussion with the author. Stefan Eich is Assistant Professor of Government at Georgetown University and currently Richard B. Fisher Member in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), Princeton. His research is in political theory and the history of political thought, in particular the political theory of money and financial capitalism. He is the author of The Currency of Politics: The Political Theory of Money from Aristotle to Keynes (Princeton University Press, May 2022), which recovers constitutive debates about money as a political institution in the history of political thought. His work has appeared in Political Theory, Modern Intellectual History, Capitalism and History, and History & Theory. He also co-edits a book series at Stanford University Press with Martijn Konings (University of Sydney) on "Currencies: New Thinking for Financial Times." Book Description: Stefan Eich examines six crucial episodes of monetary crisis, recovering the neglected political theories of money in the thought of such figures as Aristotle, John Locke, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes. He shows how these layers of crisis have come to define the way we look at money, and argues that informed public debate about money requires a better appreciation of the diverse political struggles over its meaning. https://www.amazon.com/Currency-Politics-Political-Theory-Aristotle/dp/0691191077/
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Online9 Aug 2023
The Currency of Politics | Session 3
This is the third of three sessions on Stefan Eich's 2022 book The Currency of Politics: The Political Theory of Money from Aristotle to Keynes. https://www.amazon.com/Currency-Politics-Political-Theory-Aristotle/dp/0691191077/ From the Description: Stefan Eich examines six crucial episodes of monetary crisis, recovering the neglected political theories of money in the thought of such figures as Aristotle, John Locke, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes. He shows how these layers of crisis have come to define the way we look at money, and argues that informed public debate about money requires a better appreciation of the diverse political struggles over its meaning. This week, we discuss the last two chapters and the epilogue: Chapter 5: Managing Modern Money: John Maynard Keynes and Global Monetary Governance Chapter 6: Silent Revolution: The Political Theory of Money after Bretton Woods Epilogue
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Online26 Jul 2023
Public Purpose Finance
During this off-week, Nadav Orian Peer joins us to discuss his 2020 paper, "Public Purpose Finance: The Government's Role as Lender" as well as the Perry Mehrling paper, "The State as Financial Intermediary," the ideas of which his paper expanded on. Public Purpose Finance: The Government's Role as Lender by Nadav Orian Peer (2020) The State as Financial Intermediary by Perry Mehrling (2000)
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Online19 Jul 2023
The Currency of Politics | Session 2
This is the second of three sessions on Stefan Eich's 2022 book The Currency of Politics: The Political Theory of Money from Aristotle to Keynes. https://www.amazon.com/Currency-Politics-Political-Theory-Aristotle/dp/0691191077/ From the Description: Stefan Eich examines six crucial episodes of monetary crisis, recovering the neglected political theories of money in the thought of such figures as Aristotle, John Locke, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes. He shows how these layers of crisis have come to define the way we look at money, and argues that informed public debate about money requires a better appreciation of the diverse political struggles over its meaning. This week, we discuss the middle two chapters: Chapter 3: The Monetary Social Contract: Johann Gottlieb Fichte and the Politics of Paper Money Chapter 4: Money as Capital: Karl Marx and hte Limits of Monetary Politics
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Online5 Jul 2023
The Credit–Money Hierarchy: a Republican , Egalitarian Appraisal
We are discussing with Aaron James his new paper entitled "The Credit–Money Hierarchy: a Republican , Egalitarian Appraisal." https://www.dropbox.com/s/egdve0xeqxjkfwc/James_paper%20Credit-Money%20Hiearchy.docx?dl=0 James presented the paper at this month's "Money as a Democratic Medium 2.0" conference, which some of us attended. According to James, the paper describes "three ways 'intrinsic' moral considerations apply to the global credit-money hierarchy."
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Online28 Jun 2023
The Currency of Politics | Session 1
This is the first of three sessions on Stefan Eich's 2022 book The Currency of Politics: The Political Theory of Money from Aristotle to Keynes. https://www.amazon.com/Currency-Politics-Political-Theory-Aristotle/dp/0691191077/ From the Description: Stefan Eich examines six crucial episodes of monetary crisis, recovering the neglected political theories of money in the thought of such figures as Aristotle, John Locke, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes. He shows how these layers of crisis have come to define the way we look at money, and argues that informed public debate about money requires a better appreciation of the diverse political struggles over its meaning. This week, we discuss the introduction and the first two chapters: Introduction Chapter 1: The Political Institution of Currency: Aristotle and the Coinage of the Political Community Chapter 2: The Modern Depoliticization of Money: John Locke and the Great Recoinager of 1696
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Online7 Jun 2023
A Market Theory of Money | Session 2
This is the second of two sessions on the 1989 book A Market Theory of Money by John Hicks. https://www.amazon.com/Capital-Wars-Rise-Global-Liquidity/dp/3030392902/ From the Description: Sir John Hicks draws together the common threads of over 50 years' writing on monetary economics into a succint (sic) statement of the fundamentals of monetary theory. He also goes beyond this work of synthesis to outline a theory of competitive markets which can be linked to the monetary sector, confronting the failure of both standard classical and neoclassical theory to fill the gap between monetary and non-monetary economics. This week, we discuss through the first seven chapters. Chapter 8: Choice among AssetsChapter 9: Theories of Interest Keynes versus MarshallChapter 10: Markets in Equities: Ownership and ControlChapter 11: The Old Trade CycleChapter 12: The Credit Economy: WicksellChapter 13: Interest and InvestmentChapter 14: An International EconomyChapter 15: What is Bad about Inflation?
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Online31 May 2023
Trust Bridges
Discussion of IMF Trust Bridges paper: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fintech-notes/Issues/2023/03/03/Trust-Bridges-and-Money-Flows-A-Digital-Marketplace-to-Improve-Cross-Border-Payments-528038
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Online24 May 2023
A Market Theory of Money | Session 1
This is the first of two sessions on the 1989 book A Market Theory of Money by John Hicks. https://www.amazon.com/Capital-Wars-Rise-Global-Liquidity/dp/3030392902/ From the Description: Sir John Hicks draws together the common threads of over 50 years' writing on monetary economics into a succint (sic) statement of the fundamentals of monetary theory. He also goes beyond this work of synthesis to outline a theory of competitive markets which can be linked to the monetary sector, confronting the failure of both standard classical and neoclassical theory to fill the gap between monetary and non-monetary economics. This week, we discuss through the first seven chapters. Chapter 1: Supply and Demand?Chapter 2: The Function of SpeculationChapter 3: The Pricing of ManufacturesChapter 4: The Labour MarketChapter 5: The Nature of MoneyChapter 6: The Market Makes its MoneyChapter 7: Banks and Bank Money The first four of these chapters (Part I) are largely preamble. The meat of the book starts with Chapter 5. If you're short on time, make sure to read Chapters 5, 6, and 7.
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Online10 May 2023
Capital Wars | Session 2
This is the second of two sessions on Michael J. Howell's 2020 Book Capital Wars: The Rise of Global Liquidity. https://www.amazon.com/Capital-Wars-Rise-Global-Liquidity/dp/3030392902/ From the Description: Global Liquidity is a much-discussed, but narrowly-researched and vaguely-defined topic. This book deeply explores the subject by clearly defining and measuring liquidity worldwide and by showing its importance for investors. The roles of central banks, shadow banking, the rise of Repo and growth of wholesale money are discussed. Additionally, covering the latest developments in China’s increasingly dominant financial economy, this book will appeal to practitioners, policy-makers, economists and academics, as well as those with a general interest in how financial markets work. This week, we discuss through the first seven chapters. Chapter 8: Cross-Border Capital FlowsChapter 9: China and the Emerging MarketsChapter 10: The Liquidity Transmission Mechanism: Understanding Future Macro-valuation ShiftsChapter 11: Financial Crises and Safe AssetsChapter 12: The Financial Silk Road: Globalisation and the Eastwards Shift of CapitalChapter 13: Measuring Liquidity: The Global Liquidity Indexes (GLI)Chapter 14: Conclusion: A High-Water Mark?
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Online3 May 2023
BIS Bulletin #73: Stablecoins vs. Tokenized Deposits
We are discussing BIS Bulletin #73: "Stablecoins vs. Tokenized Deposits: Implications for the singleness of money" by Rodney Garratt and Hyun Song Shin (April 11, 2023) https://www.bis.org/publ/bisbull73.htm Do "digital bearer instruments" suffer some of the same weaknesses as 19th-century banknotes? Why or why not?
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Online26 Apr 2023
Capital Wars | Session 1
This is the first of two sessions on Michael J. Howell's 2020 Book Capital Wars: The Rise of Global Liquidity. https://www.amazon.com/Capital-Wars-Rise-Global-Liquidity/dp/3030392902/ From the Description: Global Liquidity is a much-discussed, but narrowly-researched and vaguely-defined topic. This book deeply explores the subject by clearly defining and measuring liquidity worldwide and by showing its importance for investors. The roles of central banks, shadow banking, the rise of Repo and growth of wholesale money are discussed. Additionally, covering the latest developments in China’s increasingly dominant financial economy, this book will appeal to practitioners, policy-makers, economists and academics, as well as those with a general interest in how financial markets work. This week, we discuss through the first seven chapters. Chapter 1: Introduction: Capital WarsChapter 2: Global MoneyChapter 3: Synopsis: A Bigger, More Volatile WorldChapter 4: The Liquidity ModelChapter 5: Real Exchange AdjustmentChapter 6: Private Sector (Funding) LiquidityChapter 7: The Central Banks: Don't Fight the Fed, Don't Upset the ECB and Don't Mess with the PBoC
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Online19 Apr 2023
Institutional Cash Pools
In the context of the 2023 banking turmoil, we are discussing Zoltan Poszar's 2011 IMF working paper, "Institutional Cash Pools and the Triffin Dilemma of the U.S. Banking System". https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2016/12/31/Institutional-Cash-Pools-and-the-Triffin-Dilemma-of-the-U-S-25155 Nathan Tankus recently blogged about this paper. We can compare his interpretation with our own. https://www.crisesnotes.com/the-night-they-reread-pozsar-in-his-absence/ This blog post also sparked a discussion in the r/moneyview subreddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/moneyview/comments/126xthk/the_night_they_reread_pozsar_in_his_absence/ To what extent can we protect the banking system by shoring up or guaranteeing its liabilities?
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Online12 Apr 2023
Monetary Policy Operations and the Financial System | Session 3
This is the third and final session when we will cover Ulrich Bindseil's 2014 book "Monetary Policy Operations and the Financial System". We will focus on chapters 13-18. From the bookseller's description:"Since 2007, central banks of industrialized countries have counteracted financial instability, recession, and deflationary risks with unprecedented monetary policy operations. While generally regarded as successful, these measures also led to an exceptional increase in the size of central bank balance sheets. The book first introduces the subject by explaining monetary policy operations in normal times, including the key instruments (open market operations, standing facilities, reserve requirements, and the collateral framework). Second, the book reviews the basic mechanics of financial crises as they have hit economies many times. The book then explains what central banks need to do to when financial markets and banks are impaired to fulfil their monetary policy and financial stability mandates. Besides demonstrating the need for non-conventional monetary policy measures, the book also highlights their dangers, such as moral hazard and increased central bank risk taking. The book draws a number of lessons from the crisis on non-conventional monetary policy operations, assessing what measures have worked well, and how a framework should be designed in future normal times such as to contribute to make financial crises less likely."
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Online5 Apr 2023
Silicon Valley Bank
We are discussing the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the recent banking stresses in general. What happened? To what extent is SVB special? Do other banks face similar risks? To prompt discussion, we first have a Bloomberg article by Matt Levine from the day the FDIC shut down SVB. Startup Bank had a Startup Bank Run by Matt Levine (March 10th) Next are a trio of Substack posts by Daniel Neilson that use balance sheets to describe the situation from a money-view perspective. Silicon Valley Bank: The systemic view by Daniel Neilson (March 16th) Plugging the leaks: Three refinancing channels, so far by Daniel Neilson (March 21st) The SVB panic and the Fed: Video interview and graphs by Daniel Neilson (March 21st) Finally, here is a Financial Times piece by Laura Noonan and Brooke Masters that explores the broader context of rising interest rates and strain on the banking system. What are banks’ weaknesses as interest rates rise? by Laura Noonan and Brook Masters (March 30th)
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Online29 Mar 2023
Monetary Policy Operations and the Financial System | Session 2
This is the second session when we will cover Ulrich Bindseil's 2014 book "Monetary Policy Operations and the Financial System". We will focus on chapters 9-12. From the bookseller's description:"Since 2007, central banks of industrialized countries have counteracted financial instability, recession, and deflationary risks with unprecedented monetary policy operations. While generally regarded as successful, these measures also led to an exceptional increase in the size of central bank balance sheets. The book first introduces the subject by explaining monetary policy operations in normal times, including the key instruments (open market operations, standing facilities, reserve requirements, and the collateral framework). Second, the book reviews the basic mechanics of financial crises as they have hit economies many times. The book then explains what central banks need to do to when financial markets and banks are impaired to fulfil their monetary policy and financial stability mandates. Besides demonstrating the need for non-conventional monetary policy measures, the book also highlights their dangers, such as moral hazard and increased central bank risk taking. The book draws a number of lessons from the crisis on non-conventional monetary policy operations, assessing what measures have worked well, and how a framework should be designed in future normal times such as to contribute to make financial crises less likely."
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Online15 Mar 2023
Monetary Policy Operations and the Financial System | Session 1
This is the first session when we will cover Ulrich Bindseil's 2014 book "Monetary Policy Operations and the Financial System". We will focus on chapters 1-8, covering the first 100 pages (roughly a third) of the book. From the bookseller's description:"Since 2007, central banks of industrialized countries have counteracted financial instability, recession, and deflationary risks with unprecedented monetary policy operations. While generally regarded as successful, these measures also led to an exceptional increase in the size of central bank balance sheets. The book first introduces the subject by explaining monetary policy operations in normal times, including the key instruments (open market operations, standing facilities, reserve requirements, and the collateral framework). Second, the book reviews the basic mechanics of financial crises as they have hit economies many times. The book then explains what central banks need to do to when financial markets and banks are impaired to fulfil their monetary policy and financial stability mandates. Besides demonstrating the need for non-conventional monetary policy measures, the book also highlights their dangers, such as moral hazard and increased central bank risk taking. The book draws a number of lessons from the crisis on non-conventional monetary policy operations, assessing what measures have worked well, and how a framework should be designed in future normal times such as to contribute to make financial crises less likely."
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Online1 Mar 2023
Bonds Without Borders | Session 2
This is the second of two sessions on Chris O'Malley's 2015 Book Bonds Without Borders: A History of the Eurobond Market. https://www.amazon.com/Bonds-without-Borders-History-Eurobond/dp/1118843886 From the Dust Jacket: Bonds Without Borders tells the extraordinary story of how the [Eurobond] market developed into the principal source of international finance for sovereign states, supranational agencies, financial institutions and companies around the world. This week, we discuss Chapter 6 through the end of the book. Chapter 6: The Derivatives Dash — 1990-1995 Chapter 7: Convergence and Credit — 1995-1999 Chapter 8: Of .Com's and Cons — 1999-2004 Chapter 9: Mark-to-Model — 2004-2007 Chapter 10: Busts and Bailouts — 2007-2010 Chapter 11: Sinking Sovereigns — 2011-2013 Postscript
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Online15 Feb 2023
Bonds Without Borders | Session 1
This is the first of two sessions on Chris O'Malley's 2015 Book Bonds Without Borders: A History of the Eurobond Market. https://www.amazon.com/Bonds-without-Borders-History-Eurobond/dp/1118843886 From the Dust Jacket: Bonds Without Borders tells the extraordinary story of how the [Eurobond] market developed into the principal source of international finance for sovereign states, supranational agencies, financial institutions and companies around the world. This week, we discuss through the first five chapters. Introduction: Fifty Years of the Eurobond MarketChapter 1: Before the Beginning — To 1962Chapter 2: Building the Base — 1963-1969Chapter 3: Oil and Turmoil — 1970-1979Chapter 4: Masters of the — 1979-1984Chapter 5: Going Global — 1985-1989
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Online18 Jan 2023
A Financial History of Western Europe | Part 5 — After World War II
This is the last of five sessions on Charles P. Kindleberger's 1993 (1984) book A Financial History of Western Europe. From the Dust Jacket: Charles Kindleberger highlights the development of financial institutions to meet emerging needs, and the similarities and contrasts in the handling of financial problems such as transferring resources from one country to another, stimulating investment or financing war and cleaning up the resulting monetary mess. The first half of the book covers money, banking and finance from about 1450 to 1913; the second deals in considerably more detail with the twentieth century. In his latest book, Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System, Perry Mehrling says: "In Charlie's mind, this book was to be his culminating treatise on international money, and, if we want to understand it, that is how we must attempt to read it." There are two editions of this book, which are fairly similar. We will organize our discussion around the 1993 second edition, but it's fine to participate with the 1984 first edition. This week, we discuss the four chapters in Part 5: After World War II. Chapter 22: German Finance in and After World War II Chapter 23: Lend-Lease, the British Loan, the Marshall Plan Chapter 24: European Financial Integration Chapter 25: Europe in the World Financial System This final part of the book contains the most differences between the first and second editions of the book. Chapter 24 is partly reorganized and rewritten in the second edition. Chapter 25 is new.
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Online11 Jan 2023
A Financial History of Western Europe | Part 4 — The Interwar Period
This is the fourth of five sessions on Charles P. Kindleberger's 1993 (1984) book A Financial History of Western Europe. From the Dust Jacket: Charles Kindleberger highlights the development of financial institutions to meet emerging needs, and the similarities and contrasts in the handling of financial problems such as transferring resources from one country to another, stimulating investment or financing war and cleaning up the resulting monetary mess. The first half of the book covers money, banking and finance from about 1450 to 1913; the second deals in considerably more detail with the twentieth century. In his latest book, Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System, Perry Mehrling says: "In Charlie's mind, this book was to be his culminating treatise on international money, and, if we want to understand it, that is how we must attempt to read it." There are two editions of this book, which are fairly similar. We will organize our discussion around the 1993 second edition, but it's fine to participate with the 1984 first edition. This week, we discuss the six chapters in Part 4: The Interwar Period. Chapter 16: War Finance, Reparations, War Debts Chapter 17: German Postwar Inflation Chapter 18: The Restoration of the Pound to Par Chapter 19: Stabilization of the Franc Chapter 20: The 1929 Depression Chapter 21: The 1930s
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Online4 Jan 2023
Money and Empire: Discussion with Perry Mehrling #2
In this session Perry Mehrling, author of "Money and Empire - Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System" again comes to visit the reading group to answer our questions and engage with reactions to his work.
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Online21 Dec 2022
Money and Empire: Discussion with Perry Mehrling
In this session Perry Mehrling, author of "Money and Empire - Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System" comes to visit the reading group to answer our questions and engage with reactions to his work.
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Online21 Dec 2022
Money and Empire: Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System | Part 3
In this book, Perry Mehrling traces the evolution of Charles P. Kindleberger's thinking in the context of a 'key-currency' approach to the rise of the dollar system, here revealed as the indispensable framework for global economic development since World War II. In this third session we will discuss: Part III: Historical Economist, 1976-2003Ch. 8 IndepenceCh. 9 Chef d'OuvreCh. 10 Leadership
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Online14 Dec 2022
Money and Empire: Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System | Part 2
In this book, Perry Mehrling traces the evolution of Charles P. Kindleberger's thinking in the context of a 'key-currency' approach to the rise of the dollar system, here revealed as the indispensable framework for global economic development since World War II. In this second session we will discuss: Part II: International Economist, 1948-1976Ch. 5 TechCh. 6 The Dollar SystemCh. 7 Among Economists
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Online30 Nov 2022
Money and Empire: Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System | Part 1
In this book, Perry Mehrling traces the evolution of Charles P. Kindleberger's thinking in the context of a 'key-currency' approach to the rise of the dollar system, here revealed as the indispensable framework for global economic development since World War II. In this first session we will discuss: Introduction Part I: Intellectual Formation, 1910-1948Ch. 1: Golden BoyCh. 2: ColumbiaCh. 3: Hot MoneyCh. 4: A Good War In the next session, we will discuss: Part II: International Economist, 1948-1976Ch. 5 TechCh. 6 The Dollar SystemCh. 7 Among Economists Part III: Historical Economist, 1976-2003Ch. 8 IndepenceCh. 9 Chef d'OuvreCh. 10 Leadership
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Online16 Nov 2022
A Financial History of Western Europe | Part 3 — Finance
This is the third of five sessions on Charles P. Kindleberger's 1993 (1984) book A Financial History of Western Europe. From the Dust Jacket: Charles Kindleberger highlights the development of financial institutions to meet emerging needs, and the similarities and contrasts in the handling of financial problems such as transferring resources from one country to another, stimulating investment or financing war and cleaning up the resulting monetary mess. The first half of the book covers money, banking and finance from about 1450 to 1913; the second deals in considerably more detail with the twentieth century. In his latest book, Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System, Perry Mehrling says: "In Charlie's mind, this book was to be his culminating treatise on international money, and, if we want to understand it, that is how we must attempt to read it." There are two editions of this book, which are fairly similar. We will organize our discussion around the 1993 second edition, but it's fine to participate with the 1984 first edition. This week, we discuss the seven chapters in Part 3: Finance. Chapter 9: Government Finance Chapter 10: Private Finance—Individuals and Families Chapter 11: Private Finance—The Corporation Chapter 12: Foreign Investment—Dutch, British, French, and German Experience to 1914 Chapter 13: Transfer Cases Chapter 14: Foreign Lending—Political and Analytical Aspects Chapter 15: Financial Crises
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Online2 Nov 2022
A Financial History of Western Europe | Part 2 — Banking
This is the second of five sessions on Charles P. Kindleberger's 1993 (1984) book A Financial History of Western Europe. From the Dust Jacket: Charles Kindleberger highlights the development of financial institutions to meet emerging needs, and the similarities and contrasts in the handling of financial problems such as transferring resources from one country to another, stimulating investment or financing war and cleaning up the resulting monetary mess. The first half of the book covers money, banking and finance from about 1450 to 1913; the second deals in considerably more detail with the twentieth century. In his latest book, "Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System," Perry Mehrling says: "In Charlie's mind, this book was to be his culminating treatise on international money, and, if we want to understand it, that is how we must attempt to read it." There are two editions of this book, which are fairly similar. We will organize our discussion around the 1993 second edition, but it's fine to participate with the 1984 first edition. This week, we discuss the four chapters in Part 2: Banking. Chapter 5: English and Scottish Banking Chapter 6: French Banking Chapter 7: German Banking Chapter 8: Italian and Spanish Banking
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Online19 Oct 2022
A Financial History of Western Europe | Part 1 — Money
This is the first of five sessions on Charles P. Kindleberger's 1993 (1984) book A Financial History of Western Europe. From the Dust Jacket: Charles Kindleberger highlights the development of financial institutions to meet emerging needs, and the similarities and contrasts in the handling of financial problems such as transferring resources from one country to another, stimulating investment or financing war and cleaning up the resulting monetary mess. The first half of the book covers money, banking and finance from about 1450 to 1913; the second deals in considerably more detail with the twentieth century. In his latest book, "Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System," Perry Mehrling says: "In Charlie's mind, this book was to be his culminating treatise on international money, and, if we want to understand it, that is how we must attempt to read it." There are two editions of this book, which are fairly similar. We will organize our discussion around the 1993 second edition, but it's fine to participate with the 1984 first edition. This week, we discuss the introduction chapter as well as the three chapters in Part 1: Money. Chapter 2: The Evolution of Money in Western Europe Chapter 3: Bank Money Chapter 4: Bimetallism and the Emergence of the Gold Standard
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Online5 Oct 2022
The Evolution of Central Banking | Q&A Session with Stefano Ugolini
This is an event which will conclude our discussion of Stefano Ugolini's book "The Evolution of Central Banking". It will take a form of an one-hour Q&A session with professor Ugolini himself.
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Online28 Sep 2022
A Money View of DeFi
This discussion will focus on the article The Crypto Banking System, which dives into the required foundations to build a financial system on top of decentralized finance (DeFi). The work illustrates through balance sheets how institutions would be interconnected, building on Zoltan Pozsar’s mapping of the Shadow Banking System (see here and here) We will be joined by the article’s author, Sébastien Derivaux. Sébastien Derivaux is ALM Analyst at MakerDAO. MakerDAO is the leading lending protocol in DeFi and the issuer of the $-pegged DAI stablecoin, the leading decentralized stablecoin (>$6B market cap). Sébastien focuses on bridging the gap between DeFi and TradFi. working both on asset-liability management and investing the balance sheet into Real-World Asset (currently bonds). Prior to joining MakerDAO, Sébastien worked as head of financial planning and analysis for an insurance company. He holds a PhD in Data Science from Strasbourg University
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Online21 Sep 2022
The Evolution of Central Banking | Session 3
This is the final session devoted to Stafano Ugolini's book "The Evolution of Central Banking: Theory and History". We will be discussing Chapter 4: Monetary Policy and the conclusion. Book's description: This book is the first complete survey of the evolution of monetary institutions and practices in Western countries from the Middle Ages to today. It radically rethinks previous attempts at a history of monetary institutions by avoiding institutional approach and shifting the focus away from the Anglo-American experience. Previous histories have been hamstrung by the linear, teleological assessment of the evolution of central banks. Free from such assumptions, Ugolini’s work offers bankers and policymakers valuable and profound insights into their institutions. Using a functional approach, Ugolini charts an historical trajectory longer and broader than any other attempted on the subject. Moving away from the Anglo-American perspective, the book allows for a richer (and less biased) analysis of long-term trends. The book is ideal for researchers looking to better understand the evolution of the institutions that underlie the global economy.
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Online7 Sep 2022
The Evolution of Central Banking | Session 2
This is the second out of three sessions devoted to Stafano Ugolini's book "The Evolution of Central Banking: Theory and History". We will be discussing Chapter 2 (Lender of Last Resort and Supervision) and Chapter 3 (Issuing Money). Book's description: This book is the first complete survey of the evolution of monetary institutions and practices in Western countries from the Middle Ages to today. It radically rethinks previous attempts at a history of monetary institutions by avoiding institutional approach and shifting the focus away from the Anglo-American experience. Previous histories have been hamstrung by the linear, teleological assessment of the evolution of central banks. Free from such assumptions, Ugolini’s work offers bankers and policymakers valuable and profound insights into their institutions. Using a functional approach, Ugolini charts an historical trajectory longer and broader than any other attempted on the subject. Moving away from the Anglo-American perspective, the book allows for a richer (and less biased) analysis of long-term trends. The book is ideal for researchers looking to better understand the evolution of the institutions that underlie the global economy.
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Online24 Aug 2022
The Evolution of Central Banking | Session 1
This is the first out of three sessions devoted to Stafano Ugolini's book "The Evolution of Central Banking: Theory and History". We will be discussing the introduction and Chapter 1: The Payment System. Book's description: This book is the first complete survey of the evolution of monetary institutions and practices in Western countries from the Middle Ages to today. It radically rethinks previous attempts at a history of monetary institutions by avoiding institutional approach and shifting the focus away from the Anglo-American experience. Previous histories have been hamstrung by the linear, teleological assessment of the evolution of central banks. Free from such assumptions, Ugolini’s work offers bankers and policymakers valuable and profound insights into their institutions. Using a functional approach, Ugolini charts an historical trajectory longer and broader than any other attempted on the subject. Moving away from the Anglo-American perspective, the book allows for a richer (and less biased) analysis of long-term trends. The book is ideal for researchers looking to better understand the evolution of the institutions that underlie the global economy.
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Online17 Aug 2022
The Money Problem | Discussion with Morgan Ricks
After reading Morgan Ricks' The Money Problem, Professor Ricks will join us to discuss the book. Morgan Ricks is a Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University where he studies financial regulation. He is the author of The Money Problem: Rethinking Financial Regulation (University of Chicago Press, 2016), which offers a blueprint for a modernized system of money and banking that can be established through incremental change. Professor Ricks joined the Vanderbilt Law faculty in 2012 and was the 2019-21 Enterprise Scholar. Before he entered the legal academy, he was a senior policy advisor and financial restructuring expert at the U.S. Treasury Department from 2009 to 2010, where he focused primarily on financial stability initiatives and capital markets policy. Before joining the Treasury Department, he was a risk-arbitrage trader at Citadel Investment Group, a Chicago-based hedge fund. He previously served as a vice president in the investment banking division of Merrill Lynch & Co., where he specialized in strategic and capital-raising transactions for financial services companies. He began his career as a mergers and acquisitions attorney at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.
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Online10 Aug 2022
The Money Problem | Session 2
This is the second of two sessions for reading and discussing Morgan Ricks' book The Money Problem. In this session we will cover the Part 2 and Part 3. From the jacket:"Years have passed since the world experienced one of the worst financial crises in history, and while countless experts have analyzed it, many central questions remain unanswered. Should money creation be considered a ‘public’ or ‘private’ activity―or both? What do we mean by, and want from, financial stability? What role should regulation play? How would we design our monetary institutions if we could start from scratch?"
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Online27 Jul 2022
The Money Problem | Session 1
This is the first of two sessions for reading and discussing Morgan Ricks' book The Money Problem. In this session we will cover the Introduction and Part 1 (through chapter 4). From the jacket:"Years have passed since the world experienced one of the worst financial crises in history, and while countless experts have analyzed it, many central questions remain unanswered. Should money creation be considered a ‘public’ or ‘private’ activity―or both? What do we mean by, and want from, financial stability? What role should regulation play? How would we design our monetary institutions if we could start from scratch?"
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Online6 Jul 2022
Central Bank Cooperation 1924-31 | Stephen Clarke | Part 2
This we discuss the remaining chapters of Stephen Clarke's monograph. Access it here: https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/meltzer/clacen67.pdf?utm_source=direct_download 6. The Defense of a Key Currency:1926-28 108Introduction 108Payments Surpluses ComplicateMonetary Policy 109Germany 109France 110The Shift toward Gold 112Germany 112France 115British-French Accommodation 119The Central Bankers' Meeting ofJuly 1927 123The Easing of Federal ReservePolicy 124The Payments Balance Shifts inFavor of Europe 127The Liquidation of the Federal Reserve's Sterling Balance and the Shifting of the Demand for Gold to NewYork 130The International Financial SystemBecomes More Rigid 134Inadequate Efforts to ButtressSterling 139Conclusion 141 7. Mounting StrainsDeclining Cooperation 144The Reparation Settlement 145Strains During the Boom:July 1928-October 1929 147International imbalance 147Difficulties of cooperation 150The role of the Bank of France ... 164False Hopes: November 1929-June 1930 168Strains During the Depression:July 1930-May 1931 , 171Deterioration 171Central bank cooperation: muchactivity; little accomplished 173 8. The 1931 Crisis 182Introduction 182Germany at Loggerheads withFrance 183Central Bank Cooperation: HalfMeasures to Support Austria andGermany 185Supporting the Austrian schilling.. 186The failure of efforts to supportthe reichsmark 189The Attack on Sterling 201The first attack 202Britain's response 203Central bank credits to theBank of England 204The bankers' loan to theBritish government 209The final onslaught 213Epilogue 218 9. Conclusion 220
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Online22 Jun 2022
Central Bank Cooperation 1924-31 | Stephen Clarke | Part 1
This week, we will discuss the first 5 chapters of the 1967 monograph by Stephen Clarke. Access it here:https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/meltzer/clacen67.pdf?utm_source=direct_download Dramatis Personae 10 1- Introduction 15 2. The Problems of 1924-31 18Economic Difficulties 18Political Tensions 21Temporary Solutions 22Trouble Spots 23The Economic Breakdown 24 3. The Role of Central BankCooperation 27Introduction 27The Gold Standard Conception ofCentral Bank Cooperation 27Central Banks as Instruments ofNational Policy 29The Debate on Central BankCooperation 33The Genoa proposals 34Strong's critique of theGenoa proposals 36A Pragmatic Approach to CentralBank Cooperation 40 4. The Bankers' Role in the Stabilization of the German Mark: 1924 45Introduction 45Cooperative Aspects 48Political and economic conditionsfor the Dawes Loan 50The transfer committee andthe agent general 56Competitive Aspects:Dollars or Sterling? 58The Gold Discount Bank 58The Reichsbank's internationalreserves 60Final Negotiations for theDawes Loan 67 5. Britain's Return to Gold 71Introduction 71The Objectives of Anglo-AmericanCooperation 72The Strategy of Cooperation 75Timing 78Implementing the Strategy 81The Federal Reserve andMorgan credits 81Coordination of monetary policy .. 85Consolidating Sterling's Position 96The Unfinished Task of International Economic Cooperation 105
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Online15 Jun 2022
Money and Empire | Session 2
This is the second session to discuss "Money and empire: The international gold standard, 1890-1914" by Marcello De Cecco. We will cover chapters 5-7 this session. From a published review: "The author, a Professor of International Economics at the University of Siena, Italy, finds highly abstract theoretical explanations of the international gold standard to be deficient. He thinks that these treatments do not adequately explain how the standard worked during its heyday from 1890 until 1914, in part because they fail to identify how it came to be and how it came apart. So the idea that moves this book along is that to understand an economic system, in this case a financial and monetary system, one must study it within its place and time-within history. De Cecco's theoretical theme is that the international gold standard was in fact a sterling standard; to the extent that it functioned well, this was because of Britain's dominance of international financial flows. The seeds of the gold standard's demise, de Cecco argues, are found in Britain's decline as an industrial and financial power".
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Online25 May 2022
Money and Empire | Session 1
This is the first of two sessions to discuss "Money and empire: The international gold standard, 1890-1914" by Marcello De Cecco. We will cover chapters 1-4 this session. From a published review: "The author, a Professor of International Economics at the University of Siena, Italy, finds highly abstract theoretical explanations of the international gold standard to be deficient. He thinks that these treatments do not adequately explain how the standard worked during its heyday from 1890 until 1914, in part because they fail to identify how it came to be and how it came apart. So the idea that moves this book along is that to understand an economic system, in this case a financial and monetary system, one must study it within its place and time-within history. De Cecco's theoretical theme is that the international gold standard was in fact a sterling standard; to the extent that it functioned well, this was because of Britain's dominance of international financial flows. The seeds of the gold standard's demise, de Cecco argues, are found in Britain's decline as an industrial and financial power".
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Online11 May 2022
Fighting Financial Crises | Session 2
This is the second of two sessions to discuss "Fighting Financial Crises: Learning from the Past" by Gary Gorton and Ellis Tallman. We will cover chapters 7-12 this last session. From the back cover:"If you’ve got money in the bank, chances are you’ve never seriously worried about not being able to withdraw it. But there was a time in the United States, an era that ended just over a hundred years ago, when bank customers had to pay close attention to the solvency of the banking system, knowing they might have to rush to retrieve their savings before the bank collapsed. During the National Banking Era (1863–1913), before the establishment of the Federal Reserve, widespread banking panics were indeed rather common. Yet these pre-Fed banking panics, as Gary B. Gorton and Ellis W. Tallman show, bear striking similarities to our recent financial crisis. Fighting Financial Crises thus turns to the past to better understand our uncertain present, investigating how panics during the National Banking Era played out and how they were eventually quelled and prevented. The authors then consider the Fed’s and the SEC’s reactions to the recent crisis, building an informative new perspective on how the modern economy works."
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Online20 Apr 2022
Fighting Financial Crises | Session 1
This is the first of two sessions to discuss "Fighting Financial Crises: Learning from the Past" by Gary Gorton and Ellis Tallman. We will cover chapters 1-6 this first session. From the back cover:"If you’ve got money in the bank, chances are you’ve never seriously worried about not being able to withdraw it. But there was a time in the United States, an era that ended just over a hundred years ago, when bank customers had to pay close attention to the solvency of the banking system, knowing they might have to rush to retrieve their savings before the bank collapsed. During the National Banking Era (1863–1913), before the establishment of the Federal Reserve, widespread banking panics were indeed rather common. Yet these pre-Fed banking panics, as Gary B. Gorton and Ellis W. Tallman show, bear striking similarities to our recent financial crisis. Fighting Financial Crises thus turns to the past to better understand our uncertain present, investigating how panics during the National Banking Era played out and how they were eventually quelled and prevented. The authors then consider the Fed’s and the SEC’s reactions to the recent crisis, building an informative new perspective on how the modern economy works."
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Online23 Mar 2022
The New Lombard Street | Session 3
This is the last of three sessions on Perry Mehrling's 2011 book The New Lombard Street: How the Fed Became the Dealer of Last Resort https://www.amazon.com/Money-Interest-Public-American-1920-1970/dp/0674584309/ In this book, Mehrling applies his Money View framework to interpret the history of the Fed and to make sense of the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. Walter Bagehot's Lombard Street, published in 1873 in the wake of a devastating London bank collapse, explained in clear and straightforward terms why central banks must serve as the lender of last resort to ensure liquidity in a faltering credit system. Bagehot's book set down the principles that helped define the role of modern central banks, particularly in times of crisis--but the recent global financial meltdown has posed unforeseen challenges. The New Lombard Street lays out the innovative principles needed to address the instability of today's markets and to rebuild our financial system. This week, we discuss chapters 5 and 6 as well as the conclusion.
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Online9 Mar 2022
The New Lombard Street | Session 2
This is the second of three sessions on Perry Mehrling's 2011 book The New Lombard Street: How the Fed Became the Dealer of Last Resort https://www.amazon.com/Money-Interest-Public-American-1920-1970/dp/0674584309/ In this book, Mehrling applies his Money View framework to interpret the history of the Fed and to make sense of the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. Walter Bagehot's Lombard Street, published in 1873 in the wake of a devastating London bank collapse, explained in clear and straightforward terms why central banks must serve as the lender of last resort to ensure liquidity in a faltering credit system. Bagehot's book set down the principles that helped define the role of modern central banks, particularly in times of crisis--but the recent global financial meltdown has posed unforeseen challenges. The New Lombard Street lays out the innovative principles needed to address the instability of today's markets and to rebuild our financial system. This week, we discuss chapters 3 and 4.
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Online23 Feb 2022
The New Lombard Street | Session 1
This is the first of three sessions on Perry Mehrling's 2011 book The New Lombard Street: How the Fed Became the Dealer of Last Resort https://www.amazon.com/Money-Interest-Public-American-1920-1970/dp/0674584309/ In this book, Mehrling applies his Money View framework to interpret the history of the Fed and to make sense of the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. Walter Bagehot's Lombard Street, published in 1873 in the wake of a devastating London bank collapse, explained in clear and straightforward terms why central banks must serve as the lender of last resort to ensure liquidity in a faltering credit system. Bagehot's book set down the principles that helped define the role of modern central banks, particularly in times of crisis--but the recent global financial meltdown has posed unforeseen challenges. The New Lombard Street lays out the innovative principles needed to address the instability of today's markets and to rebuild our financial system. This week, we discuss the introduction as well as chapters 1 and 2.
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Online2 Feb 2022
The Menace of Fiscal QE
This session we are reading and discussing George Selgin's The Menace of Fiscal QE. "So far, QE has been a weapon for combating recession. But if certain politicians have their way, the Fed may be forced to use it not for macroeconomic purposes but to finance backdoor spending. That’s The Menace of Fiscal QE. In his brief but systematic study, George Selgin reviews the movement favoring fiscal QE, shows how it threatens both the Fed’s independence and democratic control of government spending, and counters claims that it offers a low-cost means for financing such spending." George Selgin is a senior fellow and director emeritus of the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute and Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Georgia. His research covers a broad range of topics within the field of monetary economics, including monetary history, macroeconomic theory, and the history of monetary thought.
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Online19 Jan 2022
Controlling Credit | Session 2
This is the second of two sessions to read and discuss Eric Monnet's "Controlling Credit: Central Banking and the Planned Economy in Postwar France." Controlling Credit studies how the Banque de France used credit policy in the post-World War II era to influence the economy at a time when interest rates were not the leading policy instrument. For this first session we will cover the part 2 of the book.
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Online5 Jan 2022
Controlling Credit | Session 1
This is the first of two sessions to read and discuss Eric Monnet's "Controlling Credit: Central Banking and the Planned Economy in Postwar France." Controlling Credit studies how the Banque de France used credit policy in the post-World War II era to influence the economy at a time when interest rates were not the leading policy instrument. For this first session we will cover the introduction and the part 1 of the book.
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Online8 Dec 2021
The Money Interest and the Public Interest | Edward Shaw
This is the last of three sessions to discuss Perry Mehrling's 1998 book The Money Interest and the Public Interest: American Monetary Thought 1920–1970 https://www.amazon.com/Money-Interest-Public-American-1920-1970/dp/0674584309/ Note that a hard copy of the book is hard to find right now. The book traces the development of monetary thought in the 20th century through three parts, each of which is an intellectual biography of a different economics professor. *"Perry Mehrling tells a story of continuity around the crucial question of the role of money in American democracy, a question associated generally with the Progressive tradition and its legacy, and more particularly with the institutionalist tradition in American economic thought. In this story, which he tells through the ideas and lives of three prominent institutionalists, Allyn Young, Alvin Hansen, and Edward Shaw, progress is measured not by the swings of fashion between two polar traditions of monetary thought--quantity theory and anti-quantity theory--but rather by the success with which each succeeding generation finds its footing on the shifting middle ground between the two extremes."* This week, we discuss chapters 9—11 on Edward Shaw, as well as the conclusion.
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Online24 Nov 2021
The Money Interest and the Public Interest | Alvin Hansen
This is the second of three sessions to discuss Perry Mehrling's 1998 book The Money Interest and the Public Interest: American Monetary Thought 1920–1970 https://www.amazon.com/Money-Interest-Public-American-1920-1970/dp/0674584309/ Note that a hard copy of the book is hard to find right now. The book traces the development of monetary thought in the 20th century through three parts, each of which is an intellectual biography of a different economics professor. Perry Mehrling tells a story of continuity around the crucial question of the role of money in American democracy, a question associated generally with the Progressive tradition and its legacy, and more particularly with the institutionalist tradition in American economic thought. In this story, which he tells through the ideas and lives of three prominent institutionalists, Allyn Young, Alvin Hansen, and Edward Shaw, progress is measured not by the swings of fashion between two polar traditions of monetary thought--quantity theory and anti-quantity theory--but rather by the success with which each succeeding generation finds its footing on the shifting middle ground between the two extremes. This week, we discuss chapters 5—8 on Alvin Hansen
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Online10 Nov 2021
The Money Interest and the Public Interest | Allyn Young
This is the first of three sessions to discuss Perry Mehrling's 1998 book The Money Interest and the Public Interest: American Monetary Thought 1920–1970 https://www.amazon.com/Money-Interest-Public-American-1920-1970/dp/0674584309/ Note that a hard copy of the book is hard to find right now. The book traces the development of monetary thought in the 20th century through three parts, each of which is an intellectual biography of a different economics professor. Perry Mehrling tells a story of continuity around the crucial question of the role of money in American democracy, a question associated generally with the Progressive tradition and its legacy, and more particularly with the institutionalist tradition in American economic thought. In this story, which he tells through the ideas and lives of three prominent institutionalists, Allyn Young, Alvin Hansen, and Edward Shaw, progress is measured not by the swings of fashion between two polar traditions of monetary thought--quantity theory and anti-quantity theory--but rather by the success with which each succeeding generation finds its footing on the shifting middle ground between the two extremes. This week, we discuss the introduction as well as chapters 1—4 on Allyn Young.
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Online27 Oct 2021
The Rise of Carry | Session 2
This week we reading Chapters 7-13. From the book's description: "A groundbreaking book sure to leave its mark in the canon of investing literature, The Rise of Carry explains how carry trading has virtually shaped the global economic picture—one of decaying economic growth, recurring crises, wealth disparity, and, in too many places, social and political upheaval. The authors explain how carry trades work—particularly in the currency and stock markets—and provide a compelling case for how carry trades have come to dominate the entire global business cycle. They provide thorough analyses of critical but often overlooked topics and issues, including: •The active role stock prices play in causing recessions—as opposed to the common belief that recessions cause price crashes •The real driving force behind financial asset prices •The ways that carry, volatility selling, leverage, liquidity, and profitability affect the business cycle •How positive returns to carry over time are related to market volatility—and how central bank policies have supercharged these returns Simply put, carry trading is now the primary determinant of the global business cycle—a pattern of long, steady but unspectacular expansions punctuated by catastrophic crises. The Rise of Carry provides foundational knowledge and expert insights you need to protect yourself from what have come to be common market upheavals—as well as the next major crisis."
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Online13 Oct 2021
The Rise of Carry | Session 1
This week we are reading Chapters 1-6. From the book description: "A groundbreaking book sure to leave its mark in the canon of investing literature, The Rise of Carry explains how carry trading has virtually shaped the global economic picture—one of decaying economic growth, recurring crises, wealth disparity, and, in too many places, social and political upheaval. The authors explain how carry trades work—particularly in the currency and stock markets—and provide a compelling case for how carry trades have come to dominate the entire global business cycle. They provide thorough analyses of critical but often overlooked topics and issues, including: •The active role stock prices play in causing recessions—as opposed to the common belief that recessions cause price crashes •The real driving force behind financial asset prices •The ways that carry, volatility selling, leverage, liquidity, and profitability affect the business cycle •How positive returns to carry over time are related to market volatility—and how central bank policies have supercharged these returns Simply put, carry trading is now the primary determinant of the global business cycle—a pattern of long, steady but unspectacular expansions punctuated by catastrophic crises. The Rise of Carry provides foundational knowledge and expert insights you need to protect yourself from what have come to be common market upheavals—as well as the next major crisis."
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Online29 Sep 2021
The World in Depression, 1929-1939 by Charles P. Kindleberger | Session 3
From the book description:"In this magisterial account of the Great Depression, MIT economist Charles Kindleberger emphasizes three factors that continue to shape global financial markets: panic, the power of contagion, and importance of hegemony." This week's reading: Chapter 10 - The Beginnings of RecoveryChapter 11 - The Gold Bloc YieldsChapter 12 - The 1937 RecessionChapter 13 - Rearmament in a Disintigrating World EconomyChapter 14 - An Explanation of the 1929 Depression
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Online15 Sep 2021
The World in Depression, 1929-1939 by Charles P. Kindleberger | Session 2
From the book description:"In this magisterial account of the Great Depression, MIT economist Charles Kindleberger emphasizes three factors that continue to shape global financial markets: panic, the power of contagion, and importance of hegemony." This week's reading: Chapter 6 - The Slide to the AbyssChapter 7 - 1931Chapter 8 - More DeflationChapter 9 - The World Economic Conference
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Online1 Sep 2021
The World in Depression, 1929-1939 by Charles P. Kindleberger | Session 1
From the book description:"In this magisterial account of the Great Depression, MIT economist Charles Kindleberger emphasizes three factors that continue to shape global financial markets: panic, the power of contagion, and importance of hegemony." This week's reading: Chapter 1 - IntroductionChapter 2 - Recovery from the First World WarChapter 3 - The BoomChapter 4 - The Agricultural DepressionChapter 5 - The 1929 Stock-Market Crash
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Online18 Aug 2021
Money in a Theory of Finance | Session 3
This is the third of three sessions to discuss the 1960 book Money in a Theory of Finance by John Gurley and Edward Shaw. For this session, we will discuss chapters 4 and 5. Book Description from Perry Mehrling's Money & Banking MOOC: "This book was significant for bringing money back into economics in 1960, and emphasizing the importance of financial intermediation for economic growth. The language 'inside' and 'outside' money comes from G&S, as also 'gross money view' versus 'net money view'. Their opponents are the monetary Walrasians, mainly Don Patinkin. But they don't really take a payments or market-making view, do they? Instead they emphasize the role of banks as financial intermediaries between savers and investors."
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Online4 Aug 2021
Money in a Theory of Finance | Session 2
This is the second of three sessions to discuss the 1960 book Money in a Theory of Finance by John Gurley and Edward Shaw. For this session, we will discuss chapters 4 and 5. Book Description from Perry Mehrling's Money & Banking MOOC: "This book was significant for bringing money back into economics in 1960, and emphasizing the importance of financial intermediation for economic growth. The language 'inside' and 'outside' money comes from G&S, as also 'gross money view' versus 'net money view'. Their opponents are the monetary Walrasians, mainly Don Patinkin. But they don't really take a payments or market-making view, do they? Instead they emphasize the role of banks as financial intermediaries between savers and investors."
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Online28 Jul 2021
A Money View Discussion on Central Bank Digital Currencies
Central banks are increasingly exploring central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and the topic often comes up in other discussions on money and banking. For this session we want to take some time to more directly discuss CBDC and some of the main questions around the topic, such as: What is a money view read on the impact to the private banking sector? How do CBDCs impact liquidity provision in money markets? How will parity between CBDCs and deposits be maintained? What new IOUs may emerge (e.g., promises to pay CBDCs)? What new dealers may be required? What institutions will likely play this role? For this session there is no specific required reading, but for those interested in an introduction to the topic or learning more, there are recent major reports from the BIS and Bank of England:https://www.bis.org/publ/arpdf/ar2021e3.htmhttps://www.bankofengland.co.uk/paper/2021/new-forms-of-digital-money
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Online21 Jul 2021
Money in a Theory of Finance | Session 1
This is the first of two sessions to discuss the 1960 book Money in a Theory of Finance by John Gurley and Edward Shaw. For this session, we will begin by discussing chapters 1-4. Book Description from Perry Mehrling's Money & Banking MOOC: This is the first of two sessions to discuss the 1960 book Money in a Theory of Finance by John Gurley and Edward Shaw. For this session, we will begin by discussing chapters 1-4. Book Description from Perry Mehrling's Money & Banking MOOC: "This book was significant for bringing money back into economics in 1960, and emphasizing the importance of financial intermediation for economic growth. The language "inside" and "outside" money comes from G&S, as also "gross money view" versus "net money view". Their opponents are the monetary Walrasians, mainly Don Patinkin. But they don't really take a payments or market-making view, do they? Instead they emphasize the role of banks as financial intermediaries between savers and investors."
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Online14 Jul 2021
Making Money Book Discussion with Christine Desan
Professor Desan joins us for a discussion about her book Making Money: Coin, Currency, and the Coming of Capitalism. After reading Making Money, we look forward to discussing some of the themes and questions raised by the book and how they can help us understand money and the monetary system today. Christine Desan is the Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard Law School where she teaches about the international monetary system, the constitutional law of money, constitutional history, political economy, and legal theory. She is the co-founder of Harvard’s Program on the Study of Capitalism, an interdisciplinary project that brings together classes, resources, research funds, and advising aimed at exploring that topic. She is also the founder and managing editor of JustMoney.org, a website that explores money as a critical site of governance. Desan’s research explores money as a legal and political project, one that configures the market it sets out to measure.
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Online7 Jul 2021
Robert McCauley "Global domain of the dollar: 8 questions"
In this session we will discuss Bob McCauley's recent paper "Global domain of the dollar: 8 questions". AbstractSince the late 1950s, the rest of the world has come to use the dollar to an extent that justifes speaking of the dollar’s global domain. The rest of the world denominates much debt in U.S. dollars, extending U.S. monetary policy’s sway. In addition, in outstanding foreign exchange deals, the rest of the world has undertaken to pay still more in U.S. dollars: of-balance-sheet dollar debts buried in footnotes. Consistent with the scale of dollar debt, most of the world economic activity takes place in countries with currencies tied to or relatively stable against the dollar, forming a dollar zone much larger than the euro zone. Even though the dollar assets of the world (minus the United States) exceed dollar liabilities, corporate sector dollar debts seem to make dollar appreciation akin to a global tightening of credit. Since the 1960s, claims that the dollar’s global role sufers from instability and confers great benefits on the U.S. economy have attracted much support. However, evidence that demand for dollars from ofcial reserve managers forces unsustainable U.S. current account or fiscal defcits is not strong. The so-called exorbitant privilege is small or shared. In 2008 and again in 2020, the Federal Reserve demonstrated a willingness and capacity to backstop the global domain of the dollar. Politics could constrain the Fed’s ability to backstop the growing share of the domain of the dollar accounted for by countries that are not on such friendly terms with the U.S.
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Online30 Jun 2021
Christine Desan - Making Money | Session 3
This is the third of three sessions to discuss Christine Desan's book Making Money: Coin, Currency, and the Coming of Capitalism. For this session, we will discuss chapters 8-11 and the conclusion. Book Description: "Money travels the modern world in disguise. It looks like a convention of human exchange - a commodity like gold or a medium like language. But its history reveals that money is a very different matter. It is an institution engineered by political communities to mark and mobilize resources. Associeties change the way they create money, they change the market itself - along with the rules that structure it, the politics and ideas that shape it, and the benefits that flow from it."
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Online16 Jun 2021
Christine Desan - Making Money | Session 2
This is the second of three sessions to discuss Christine Desan's book Making Money: Coin, Currency, and the Coming of Capitalism. For this session, we will discuss chapters 4-7. Book Description: "Money travels the modern world in disguise. It looks like a convention of human exchange - a commodity like gold or a medium like language. But its history reveals that money is a very different matter. It is an institution engineered by political communities to mark and mobilize resources. Associeties change the way they create money, they change the market itself - along with the rules that structure it, the politics and ideas that shape it, and the benefits that flow from it."
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Online2 Jun 2021
Christine Desan - Making Money | Session 1
This is the first of three sessions to discuss Christine Desan's book Making Money: Coin, Currency, and the Coming of Capitalism. For this session, we will begin by discussing the introduction and chapters 1-3. Book Description: "Money travels the modern world in disguise. It looks like a convention of human exchange - a commodity like gold or a medium like language. But its history reveals that money is a very different matter. It is an institution engineered by political communities to mark and mobilize resources. Associeties change the way they create money, they change the market itself - along with the rules that structure it, the politics and ideas that shape it, and the benefits that flow from it."
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Online26 May 2021
Ralph G. Hawtrey Discussion with David Glasner
Welcome to our discussion of Ralph G. Hawtrey with David Glasner. After our reading of Art of Central Banking, we'd like to dedicate this discussion to deepening our understanding of Hawtrey's ideas and how they apply to our modern context. David Glasner, economist at Federal Trade Commission, is the creator of Uneasy Money, a blog dedicated to 'Commentary on monetary policy in the spirit of R. G. Hawtrey'.
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Online19 May 2021
BIS Working Paper: Breaking free of the triple coincidence in int. finance
This week we will discuss the 2015 BIS Working Paper 'Breaking free of the triple coincidence in international finance'. Abstract The traditional approach to international finance is to view capital flows as the financial counterpart to savings and investment decisions, assuming further that the GDP boundary defines both the decision-making unit and the currency area. This "triple coincidence" of GDP area, decision-making unit and currency area is an elegant simplification but misleads when financial flows are important in their own right. First, the neglect of gross flows, when only net flows are considered, can lead to misdiagnoses of financial vulnerability. Second, inattention to the effects of international currencies may lead to erroneous conclusions on exchange rate adjustment. Third, sectoral differences between corporate and official sector positions can distort welfare conclusions on the consequences of currency depreciation, as macroeconomic risks may be underestimated. This paper illustrates the pitfalls of the triple coincidence through a series of examples from the global financial system in recent years and examines alternative analytical frameworks based on balance sheets as the unit of analysis. Robert McCauley has recently conducted follow-up work https://www.bis.org/publ/work524.htm Robert McCauley has recently conducted follow-up work, which we will also discuss. Find the full paper here. The Global Domain of the Dollar: Eight QuestionsRobert N. McCauleySince the late 1950s, the rest of the world has come to use the dollar to an extent that justifes speaking of the dollar’s global domain. The rest of the worlddenominates much debt in U.S. dollars, extending U.S. monetary policy’s sway. In addition, in outstanding foreign exchange deals, the rest of the world has undertaken to pay still more in U.S. dollars: of-balance-sheet dollar debts buried in footnotes. Consistent with the scale of dollar debt, most of the world economic activity takes place in countries with currencies tied to or relatively stable against the dollar, forming a dollar zone much larger than the euro zone. Even though the dollar assets of the world (minus the United States) exceed dollar liabilities, corporate sector dollar debts seem to make dollar appreciation akin to a global tightening of credit. Since the 1960s, claims that the dollar’s global role sufers from instability and confers great benefts on the U.S. economy have attracted muchsupport. However, evidence that demand for dollars from official reserve managers forces unsustainable U.S. current account or fscal defcits is not strong. The so-called exorbitant privilege is small or shared. In 2008 and again in 2020, the Federal Reserve demonstrated a willingness and capacity to backstop the global domain of the dollar. Politics could constrain the Fed’s ability to backstop the growing share of the domain of the dollar accounted for by countries that are not on such friendly terms with the U.S.
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Online5 May 2021
The Art of Central Banking - Ralph Hawtrey (1933) | Session 2
Welcome to our discussion of Chapter IV - The Art of Central Banking (from Ralph Hawtrey's book with the same title). For this session, we will be focusing on the following sub-chapters (pages 174 - 302): The Gold StandardExternal InvestmentInternational Short-term InvestmentThe Financing of International TradeThe Value of GoldGold ReservesLondon and the Trade CycleStabilisation in the United States, 1922-28Gold and Money since 1914The Depression of 1929-1931The Crisis of 1931Mutual Support of Central BanksSpecial Responsibilities of LondonThe American PositionThe Responsibility for the Depression and CrisisThe Conditions of Future StabilityGold ReservesStabilisation without GoldCentral Banks and InflationAn International Central Bank
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Online21 Apr 2021
The Art of Central Banking - Ralph Hawtrey (1933) | Session 1
Welcome to our discussion of Chapter IV - The Art of Central Banking (from Ralph Hawtrey's book with the same title). For this session, we will be focusing on the following sub-chapters (pages 116 - 174): The Lender of Last ResortThe London Discount MarketThe Bank of England Before 1844The Bank of England, 1844-73Eligible Bills and SecuritiesThe Bank of England and the Note IssueBank Rate and Foreign ExchangesBank Rate After 1844Attracting Foreign MoneyThe Cunliffe CommitteeRelease and Absorption of CashThe International System.The Central Bank's Power Over Credit.The Response of the Borrowers.Credit For Fixed Capital and the Stock Exchange.The Inherent Instability of Credit.
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Online7 Apr 2021
Minsky | Session 3
Join us for a discussion with Dan Neilson, the author of 'Minsky'.
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Online31 Mar 2021
Minsky | Session 2
Minsky by Daniel H. Neilson --Flyer and discount code for book-- March 31st, 1:00pm ET / 5:00pm GMT / 7:00 pm CET Chapters discussedCh 5 - Making the marketCh 6 - Last resortCh 7 - The resilience of economicsCh 8 - Minsky for all moments
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Online24 Mar 2021
Minsky | Session 1
Minsky by Daniel H. Neilson --Flyer and discount code for book-- March, 24th March, 1:00pm ET / 5:00pm GMT / 6:00 pm CET (attention: switch to daylight savings time) Chapters discussedCh 1 - IntroductionCh 2 - Financial capitalismCh 3 - A payments theory of financeCh 4 - The inadequacy of economics
Learn moreWorking groups
- Financial Stability
- History of Economic Thought
- Economic History
- Finance, Law, and Economics
Project Organizers
Jay Pocklington
Larissa de Lima
Alex Howlett
Win Monroe
Mateusz Urban
For questions, the Project Organizers.
YSI Webinar
Bonds Without Borders | Session 2
March 1 2023, 17:00
This is the second of two sessions on Chris O'Malley's 2015 Book Bonds Without Borders: A History of the Eurobond Market.
https://www.amazon.com/Bonds-without-Borders-History-Eurobond/dp/1118843886
From the Dust Jacket:
Bonds Without Borders tells the extraordinary story of how the [Eurobond] market developed into the principal source of international finance for sovereign states, supranational agencies, financial institutions and companies around the world.
This week, we discuss Chapter 6 through the end of the book.
- Chapter 6: The Derivatives Dash — 1990-1995
- Chapter 7: Convergence and Credit — 1995-1999
- Chapter 8: Of .Com's and Cons — 1999-2004
- Chapter 9: Mark-to-Model — 2004-2007
- Chapter 10: Busts and Bailouts — 2007-2010
- Chapter 11: Sinking Sovereigns — 2011-2013
- Postscript
Recording
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Time & Date
Start: March 1 2023, 17:00*
Duration: 90 minutes
*Time is displayed in your local time zone (Africa/Abidjan).
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Topic: Bonds Without Borders | Session 2
Time: March 1 2023, 17:00 (Timezone: Africa/Abidjan)
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