Debating Modern Monetary Theory

This book considers the theoretical and empirical claims of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) in developed and developing countries. It is structured as a debate between leading MMT theorists and MMT critics. MMT threw down a challenge to mainstream economics and forced it to respond, above all in the USA. This is a rare occurrence, almost unknown, for heterodox economics during the last few decades. It is not surprising, therefore, that MMT has attracted strong attention from a broad swathe of researchers. It is even less surprising that it has become the theoretical vehicle of choice for political activists opposing austerity. Its influence is remarkable and has gradually spread to other social disciplines, including even cultural theory. Furthermore, the policy responses to coronavirus by several governments, particularly the extraordinary expansion of central bank balance sheets in 2020, appears to support MMT in practice. This volume takes into account the rising popularity of MMT and considers its theoretical claims in depth, since popularity does not necessarily equate to being right in theory. It also considers MMT claims regarding fiscal and monetary policy in view of the implications of the pandemic crisis for public spending and public debt. It is not accidental that the strongest support for MMT, in both theory and policy, is to be found in the USA, since MMT conclusions rely heavily on close institutional analysis of US government financing mechanisms. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of The Japanese Political Economy.

Weber provides an economic analysis of current, post-crash monetary reform proposals, including Bitcoin, sovereign money, regional money and modern monetary theory. The book critically examines these reform concepts, exposing their flaws and fallacies, guiding the reader towards a contemporary understanding of what money is and how it works today.

This collection of essays from leading economists in the MMT debate offers the reader a range of viewpoints from which to become informed about what is set to be a significant part of economic policy discussion in the coming years.

This book offers a rigorous, detailed, and balanced analysis of the various contributions to the Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) debate, incorporating both the arguments of proponents and those who point to its limitations and obstacles. Modern Monetary Theory has soared in popularity, particularly in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent impacts on the economy which have led to deeper discussions about monetary and financial systems, fiscal and monetary policies, inflation, and employment. The main characteristic of Modern Monetary Theory is that it offers a revolutionary way of thinking about all these issues, allowing us to abandon many of the myths that conventional economic theory installed in the collective imagination. Breaking down these false beliefs is an essential requirement for thinking and devising economic policy proposals that allow full employment to be achieved without suffering worrying inflation rates. However, this approach has also attracted many criticisms and it is also instructive to consider these in more detail to reach a fully rounded conclusion about the potential or merits of MMT. Written to be accessible to the non-economist, this book will be of great interest to readers from across the social sciences, and outside of academia who want to gain a fuller understanding of the Modern Monetary Theory phenomenon.

Innovations in financial markets and in financial management, together with dramatic innovations in the substance and technique of monetary theory, have made it necessary to restate the theory of money and the theory of monetary policy. In order to provide a new monetary theory, the author treats fully the following material: choice of currency and the theory of convertibility; interest on money; speculation and rational expectations; implications of electronic-transfer settlement procedures for monetary theory, as well as other matters. The theories of Tobin are developed and exposited in detail, as is the work of Friedman.

Provides an original interpretation of the debate on banking and the nature of money in Keynes' time from a post-Keynesian point of view. Realfonzo (economics, U. of Naples) traces the pre- history of monetary circuit theory and its challenge to mainstream analysis in the first four decades of the century, contrasting the neoclassical approach with the monetary theory of production. He examines the contributions of both well-known and relatively neglected authors to the debate on the nature of money and function of the banks. Each chapter concludes with extensive notes. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This book considers the theoretical and empirical claims of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) in developed and developing countries. It is structured as a debate between leading MMT theorists and MMT critics. MMT threw down a challenge to mainstream economics and forced it to respond, above all in the USA. This is a rare occurrence, almost unknown, for heterodox economics during the last few decades. It is not surprising, therefore, that MMT has attracted strong attention from a broad swathe of researchers. It is even less surprising that it has become the theoretical vehicle of choice for political activists opposing austerity. Its influence is remarkable and has gradually spread to other social disciplines, including even cultural theory. Furthermore, the policy responses to coronavirus by several governments, particularly the extraordinary expansion of central bank balance sheets in 2020, appears to support MMT in practice. This volume takes into account the rising popularity of MMT and considers its theoretical claims in depth, since popularity does not necessarily equate to being right in theory. It also considers MMT claims regarding fiscal and monetary policy in view of the implications of the pandemic crisis for public spending and public debt. It is not accidental that the strongest support for MMT, in both theory and policy, is to be found in the USA, since MMT conclusions rely heavily on close institutional analysis of US government financing mechanisms. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of The Japanese Political Economy.

In the aftermath of the debates between Keynesians and monetarists, this book provides an overview of the most recent developments in monetary theory. Professor Visser provides an up-to-date survey including major issues such as crowding out, the new classical macroeconomics, the breakdown of the stable money demand function, buffer stocks and currency substitution.