IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/copoec/v25y2014i3p280-300.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is there a self-enforcing monetary constitution?

Author

Listed:
  • Alexander Salter

Abstract

A self-enforcing monetary constitution has rules that agents acting within the system will uphold even in the presence of deviations from ideal knowledge and complete benevolence. It thus does not require external enforcement. What would such a constitution look like? I show that two regimes—a version of nominal gross domestic product targeting that relies on market implementation of monetary policy, and free banking—meet these requirements for self-enforcing monetary constitutions. The analysis draws insights from political economy, and from constitutional political economy in particular. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Alexander Salter, 2014. "Is there a self-enforcing monetary constitution?," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 280-300, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:copoec:v:25:y:2014:i:3:p:280-300
    DOI: 10.1007/s10602-014-9163-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10602-014-9163-1
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10602-014-9163-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. N. G. Mankiw, 2009. "The Macroeconomist as Scientist and Engineer," Voprosy Ekonomiki, NP Voprosy Ekonomiki, issue 5.
    2. Lars Jonung, 1984. "Swedish Experience under the Classical Gold Standard, 1873-1914," NBER Chapters, in: A Retrospective on the Classical Gold Standard, 1821-1931, pages 361-404, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Peter Leeson & J. Subrick, 2006. "Robust political economy," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 19(2), pages 107-111, June.
    4. Douglas W. Diamond & Philip H. Dybvig, 2000. "Bank runs, deposit insurance, and liquidity," Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, vol. 24(Win), pages 14-23.
    5. Dixit, Avinash, 1995. "Irreversible investment with uncertainty and scale economies," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 19(1-2), pages 327-350.
    6. Ben S. Bernanke & Ilian Mihov, 1998. "Measuring Monetary Policy," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(3), pages 869-902.
    7. Gorton, Gary, 1988. "Banking Panics and Business Cycles," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 40(4), pages 751-781, December.
    8. Kevin Dowd, 2009. "Moral Hazard and the Financial Crisis," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 29(1), pages 141-166, Winter.
    9. Peter J. Boettke & William J. Luther, 2010. "The Ordinary Economics of an Extraordinary Crisis," Chapters, in: Steven Kates (ed.), Macroeconomic Theory and its Failings, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Brunner, Karl & Meltzer, Allan H., 1976. "The Phillips curve," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 1-18, January.
    11. Anna J. Schwartz, 2009. "Origins of the Financial Market Crisis of 2008," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 29(1), pages 19-23, Winter.
    12. George A. Selgin, 2010. "The Futility of Central Banking," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 30(3), pages 465-473, Fall.
    13. Ben S. Bernanke & Michael Woodford, 1997. "Inflation forecasts and monetary policy," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, pages 653-686.
    14. Milton Friedman & Anna J. Schwartz, 1963. "A Monetary History of the United States, 1867–1960," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number frie63-1, March.
    15. Timberlake, Richard H, Jr, 1984. "The Central Banking Role of Clearinghouse Associations," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 16(1), pages 1-15, February.
    16. Alexander William Salter, 2013. "Not all NGDP Is Created Equal: A Critique of Market Monetarism," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 29(Fall 2013), pages 41-52.
    17. Xudong An & Yongheng Deng & Eric Rosenblatt & Vincent Yao, 2012. "Model Stability and the Subprime Mortgage Crisis," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 545-568, October.
    18. Dixit, Avinash, 1991. "Irreversible Investment with Price Ceilings," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(3), pages 541-557, June.
    19. Avinash K. Dixit & Robert S. Pindyck, 1994. "Investment under Uncertainty," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 5474.
    20. Willem H. Buiter, 2008. "Central banks and financial crises," Proceedings - Economic Policy Symposium - Jackson Hole, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, pages 495-633.
    21. Gorton, Gary & Mullineaux, Donald J, 1987. "The Joint Production of Confidence: Endogenous Regulation and Nineteenth Century Commercial-Bank Clearinghouses," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 19(4), pages 457-468, November.
    22. Sumner, Scott, 1989. "Using Futures Instrument Prices to Target Nominal Income," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(2), pages 157-162, April.
    23. John B. Taylor, 2007. "Housing and monetary policy," Proceedings - Economic Policy Symposium - Jackson Hole, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, pages 463-476.
    24. John B. Taylor, 2009. "Getting Off Track - How Government Actions and Interventions Caused, Prolonged, and Worsened the Financial Crisis," Books, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, number 3, December.
    25. Leeson, Peter T., 2011. "Government, clubs, and constitutions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 301-308.
    26. Barro, Robert J & Gordon, David B, 1983. "A Positive Theory of Monetary Policy in a Natural Rate Model," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 91(4), pages 589-610, August.
    27. Hetzel,Robert L., 2012. "The Great Recession," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107011885.
    28. Dowd, Kevin, 1994. "A Proposal to End Inflation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 104(425), pages 828-840, July.
    29. Gorton, Gary B., 2010. "Slapped by the Invisible Hand: The Panic of 2007," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199734153.
    30. Gorton, Gary, 1985. "Clearinghouses and the Origin of Central Banking in the United States," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(2), pages 277-283, June.
    31. Lawrence H. White, 2009. "Federal Reserve Policy and the Housing Bubble," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 29(1), pages 115-125, Winter.
    32. William Luther & Alexander Salter, 2012. "Monetary equilibrium and price stickiness reconsidered: A reply to Bagus and Howden," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 25(3), pages 263-269, September.
    33. Thomas F. Cargill & Gerald P. O'Driscoll Jr., 2013. "Federal Reserve Independence: Reality or Myth?," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 33(3), pages 417-435, Fall.
    34. George Selgin, 2012. "L Street: Bagehotian Prescriptions for a 21st Century Money Market," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 32(2), pages 303-332, Spring/Su.
    35. William J. Luther, 2013. "Friedman Versus Hayek on Private Outside Monies: New Evidence for the Debate," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 127-135, February.
    36. Evan F. Koenig, 2012. "All in the family: the close connection between nominal-GDP targeting and the Taylor Rule," Staff Papers, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, issue Mar.
    37. Lucas, Robert Jr., 1972. "Expectations and the neutrality of money," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 103-124, April.
    38. Greenfield, Robert L & Yeager, Leland B, 1983. "A Laissez-Faire Approach to Monetary Stability," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 15(3), pages 302-315, August.
    39. George A. Selgin & Lawrence H. White, 1994. "How Would the Invisible Hand Handle Money?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 32(4), pages 1718-1749, December.
    40. Horwitz, Steven, 2011. "Do we need a distinct monetary constitution?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 331-338.
    41. James M. Buchanan, 2010. "The Constitutionalization of Money," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 30(2), pages 251-258, Spring.
    42. Avinash Dixit, 1992. "Investment and Hysteresis," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 107-132, Winter.
    43. Lucas, Robert Jr, 1976. "Econometric policy evaluation: A critique," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 19-46, January.
    44. Finn E. Kydland & Mark A. Wynne, 2002. "Alternative monetary constitutions and the quest for price stability," Economic and Financial Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, vol. 1(1).
    45. Garrison, Roger W & White, Lawrence H, 1997. "Can Monetary Stabilization Policy Be Improved by CPI Futures Targeting? A Comment," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 29(4), pages 535-541, November.
    46. Steven G. Horwitz & William J. Luther, 2011. "The Great Recession and its Aftermath from a Monetary Equilibrium Theory Perspective," Chapters, in: Steven Kates (ed.), The Global Financial Crisis, chapter 4, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    47. Kydland, Finn E & Prescott, Edward C, 1977. "Rules Rather Than Discretion: The Inconsistency of Optimal Plans," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 85(3), pages 473-491, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Salter, Alexander William & Young, Andrew T., 2018. "Would a free banking system stabilize NGDP growth?," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 21-25.
    2. Hendrickson, Joshua R. & Salter, Alexander W., 2018. "Going beyond monetary constitutions: The congruence of money and finance," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 22-28.
    3. Van Den Hauwe, Ludwig, 2017. "Monetary Constitutionalism: Some Recent Developments," MPRA Paper 83052, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Salter, Alexander William & Young, Andrew T., 2018. "A theory of self-enforcing monetary constitutions with reference to the Suffolk System, 1825–1858," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 13-22.
    5. Alexander William Salter & Andrew T. Young, 2015. "Would a Free Banking System Target NGDP Growth?," Working Papers 15-08, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    6. Cutsinger, Bryan P., 2020. "On the feasibility of returning to the gold standard," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 88-97.
    7. Rania Adel Al-Bawwab, 2022. "The zecca mint: a self-enforcing monetary constitution in historic venice," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 1-15, March.
    8. Cachanosky, Nicolás & Salter, Alexander W. & Savanti, Ignacio, 2022. "Can dollarization constrain a populist leader? The case of Rafael Correa in Ecuador," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 430-442.
    9. Peter J. Boettke & Alexander W. Salter & Daniel J. Smith, 2018. "Money as meta-rule: Buchanan’s constitutional economics as a foundation for monetary stability," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 176(3), pages 529-555, September.
    10. Bryan P. Cutsinger, 2021. "Forced savings and political malinvestment: an application of steve horwitz’s microfoundations and macroeconomics," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 34(2), pages 311-322, June.
    11. Paniagua Pablo, 2016. "The Stability Properties of Monetary Constitutions," Journal des Economistes et des Etudes Humaines, De Gruyter, vol. 22(2), pages 113-138, December.
    12. Salter, Alexander W. & Veetil, Vipin & White, Lawrence H., 2017. "Extended shareholder liability as a means to constrain moral hazard in insured banks," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 153-160.
    13. Glenn L. Furton & Alexander William Salter, 2017. "Money and the rule of law," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 30(4), pages 517-532, December.
    14. Salter, Alexander William & Tarko, Vlad, 2017. "Polycentric banking and macroeconomic stability," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 365-395, June.
    15. Pablo Paniagua, 2016. "The robust political economy of central banking and free banking," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 29(1), pages 15-32, March.
    16. Alexander William Salter, 2017. "Playing at markets: A New Austrian perspective on macroeconomic policy," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 30(1), pages 39-49, March.
    17. Paul Lewis & Richard E. Wagner, 2017. "New Austrian macro theory: A call for inquiry," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 30(1), pages 1-18, March.
    18. Peter J. Boettke & Daniel J. Smith, 2016. "Evolving views on monetary policy in the thought of Hayek, Friedman, and Buchanan," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 29(4), pages 351-370, December.
    19. Alexander William Salter & Thomas L. Hogan, 2019. "Expectations and NGDP Targeting: Supply-Side Problems with Demand-Side Policy," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 34(Fall 2019), pages 89-106.
    20. Thomas L. Hogan & William J. Luther, 2020. "Suboptimal Equilibria from Nominal GDP Targeting," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 35(Summer 20), pages 61-76.
    21. Alexander William Salter, 2017. "Leonidas Zelmanovitz, The Ontology and Function of Money: The Philosophical Fundamentals of Monetary Institutions," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 30(3), pages 397-400, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Salter, Alexander William & Tarko, Vlad, 2017. "Polycentric banking and macroeconomic stability," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 365-395, June.
    2. Peter J. Boettke & Alexander W. Salter & Daniel J. Smith, 2018. "Money as meta-rule: Buchanan’s constitutional economics as a foundation for monetary stability," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 176(3), pages 529-555, September.
    3. Glenn L. Furton & Alexander William Salter, 2017. "Money and the rule of law," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 30(4), pages 517-532, December.
    4. Pablo Paniagua, 2016. "The robust political economy of central banking and free banking," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 29(1), pages 15-32, March.
    5. Bordo, Michael D., 1986. "Explorations in monetary history: A survey of the literature," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 339-415, October.
    6. P Arestis & A Mihailov, 2009. "Flexible Rules cum Constrained Discretion: A New Consensus in Monetary Policy," Economic Issues Journal Articles, Economic Issues, vol. 14(2), pages 27-54, September.
    7. Nicolás Cachanosky & Alexander W. Salter, 2020. "The super-alertness of central banks," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 33(1), pages 187-200, March.
    8. Paniagua Pablo, 2016. "The Stability Properties of Monetary Constitutions," Journal des Economistes et des Etudes Humaines, De Gruyter, vol. 22(2), pages 113-138, December.
    9. Selgin, George & Lastrapes, William D. & White, Lawrence H., 2012. "Has the Fed been a failure?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 569-596.
    10. Salter, Alexander William & Young, Andrew T., 2018. "A theory of self-enforcing monetary constitutions with reference to the Suffolk System, 1825–1858," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 13-22.
    11. Arghyrou, Michael G, 2014. "Is Greece turning the corner? A theory-based assessment of recent Greek macro-policy," Cardiff Economics Working Papers E2014/16, Cardiff University, Cardiff Business School, Economics Section.
    12. Cachanosky, Nicolás & Salter, Alexander W. & Savanti, Ignacio, 2022. "Can dollarization constrain a populist leader? The case of Rafael Correa in Ecuador," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 430-442.
    13. Philip Arestis & Alexander Mihailov, 2011. "Classifying Monetary Economics: Fields And Methods From Past To Future," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(4), pages 769-800, September.
    14. Gary B. Gorton, 2012. "Some Reflections on the Recent Financial Crisis," NBER Working Papers 18397, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Van Den Hauwe, Ludwig, 2017. "Monetary Constitutionalism: Some Recent Developments," MPRA Paper 83052, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Nicholas A. Curott & Tyler Watts & Benjamin R. Thrasher, 2020. "Government-Cheerleading Bias in Money and Banking Textbooks," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 17(1), pages 1-98–151, March.
    17. Michael D. Bordo & Edward S. Prescott, 2023. "Federal Reserve Structure and the Production of Monetary Policy Ideas," NBER Working Papers 31915, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Mark Gertler & Jordi Gali & Richard Clarida, 1999. "The Science of Monetary Policy: A New Keynesian Perspective," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 37(4), pages 1661-1707, December.
    19. Sumner, Scott, 2015. "Nominal GDP futures targeting," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 65-75.
    20. Akhand Akhtar Hossain, 2009. "Central Banking and Monetary Policy in the Asia-Pacific," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 12777.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Central banking; Constitutional political economy; Free banking; Monetary constitution; NGDP targeting; Robust political economy; B53; E42; E52; P16;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B53 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Austrian
    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:copoec:v:25:y:2014:i:3:p:280-300. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.