The Theory of Money and Credit / Edition 1

by Ludwig von Mises

Overview

The Theory of Money and Credit integrated monetary theory into the main body of economic analysis for the first time, providing fresh, new insights into the nature of money and its role in the economy and bringing Mises into the front rank of European economists.

The Theory of Money and Credit also presented a new monetary theory of the trade cycle, which, under further development by Mises’s student Nobel Laureate F. A. Hayek, came to challenge all previous trade-cycle theories.

Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973) was the leading spokesman of the Austrian School of economics throughout most of the twentieth century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780913966716
Publisher:	Liberty Fund, Incorporated
Publication date:	07/01/1981
Series:	Liberty Fund Library of the Works of Ludwig von Mises
Pages:	544
Sales rank:	923,414
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

Table of Contents

Foreword, by Murray N. Rothbard (1981) 13
Preface to the New Edition (1952) 17
Introduction, by Lionel Robbins (1934) 19
Preface to the English Edition (1934) 23
Preface to the Second German Edition (1924) 33

PART ONE
THE NATURE OF MONEY

Chapter 1 The Function of Money
1 The General Economic Conditions for the Use of Money 41
2 The Origin of Money 42
3 The "Secondary" Functions of Money 46

Chapter 2 On the Measurement of Value
1 The Immeasurability of Subjective Use-Values 51
2 Total Value 58
3 Money as a Price Index 61

Chapter 3 The Various Kinds of Money
1 Money and Money Substitutes 63
2 The Peculiarities of Money Substitutes 67
3 Commodity Money, Credit Money, and Fiat Money 73
4 The Commodity Money of Past and of the Present 76

Chapter 4 Money and the State
1 The Position of the State in the Market 83
2 The Legal Concept of Money 84
3 The Influence of the State on the Monetary System 87

Chapter 5 Money as an Economic Good
1 Money Neither a Production Good nor a Consumption Good 95
2 Money as Part of Private Capital 103
3 Money Not a Part of Social Capital 107

Chapter 6 The Enemies of Money
1 Money in the Socialist Community 109
2 Money Cranks 111

PART TWO
THE VALUE OF MONEY

Chapter 7 The Concept of the Value of Money
1 Subjective and Objective Factors in the Theory of the Value of Money 117
2 The Objective Exchange Value of Money 120
3 The Problems Involved in the Theory of the Value of Money 122

Chapter 8 The Determinants of the Objective Exchange Value, or Purchasing Power, of Money
(I) The Element of Continuity in the Objective Exchange Value of Money
1 The Dependence of the Subjective Valuation of Money on the Existence of Objective Exchange Value 129
2 The Necessity for a Value Independent of the Monetary Function Before an Object Can Serve as Money 131
3 The Significance of Preexisting Prices in the Determination of Market Exchange Ratios 133
4 The Applicability of the Marginal-Utility Theory to Money 136
5 "Monetary" and "Nonmonetary" Influences Affecting the Objective Exchange Value of Money 145

(II) Fluctuations in the Objective Exchange Value of Money Evoked by Changes in the Ratio Between the Supply of Money and the Demand for It
6 The Quantity Theory 146
7 The Stock of Money and the Demand for Money 153
8 The Consequences of an Increase in the Quantity of Money While the Demand for Money Remains Unchanged or Does Not Increase to the Same Extent 160
9 Criticism of Some Arguments Against the Quantity Theory 168
10 Further Applications of the Quantity Theory 174

(III) A Special Cause of Variations in the Objective Exchange Value of Money Arising from the Peculiarities of Indirect Exchange
11 "Dearness of Living" 177
12 Wagner's Theory: The Influence of the Permanent Predominance of the Supply Side over the Demand Side on the Determination of Prices 178
13 Wieser's Theory: The Influence on the Value of Money Exerted by a Change in the Relations Between Natural Economy and Money Economy 180
14 The Mechanism of the Market as a Force Affecting the Objective Exchange Value of Money 185

(IV) Excursuses
15 The Influence of the Size of the Monetary Unit and Its Subdivisions on the Objective Exchange Value of Money 189
16 A Methodological Comment 191

Chapter 9 The Problem of the Existence of Local Differences in the Objective Exchange Value of Money
1 Interlocal Price Relations 195
2 Alleged Local Differences in the Purchasing Power of Money 197
3 Alleged Local Differences in the Cost of Living 200

Chapter 10 The Exchange Ratio Between Money of Different Kinds
1 The Twofold Possibility of the Coexistence of Different Kinds of Money 205
2 The Static or Natural Exchange Ratio Between Different Kinds of Money 207

Chapter 11 The Problem of Measuring the Objective Exchange Value of Money and Variations in It
1 The History of the Problem 215
2 The Nature of the Problem 216
3 Methods of Calculating Index Numbers 217
4 Wieser's Refinement of the Methods of Calculating Index Numbers 219
5 The Practical Utility of Index Numbers 222

Chapter 12 The Social Consequences of Variations in the Objective Exchange Value of Money
1 The Exchange of Present Goods for Future Goods 225
2 Economic Calculation and Accountancy 234
3 Social Consequences of Variations in the Value of Money When Only One Kind of Money is Employed 237
4 The Consequences of Variations in the Exchange Ratio Between Two Kinds of Money 243

Chapter 13 Monetary Policy
1 Monetary Policy Defined 247
2 The Instruments of Monetary Policy 250
3 Inflationism 251
4 Restrictionism or Deflationism 262
5 Invariability of the Objective Exchange Value of Money as the Aim of Monetary Policy 268
6 The Limits of Monetary Policy 270
7 Excursus: The Concepts Inflation and Deflation 271

Chapter 14 The Monetary Policy of Etatism
1 The Monetary Theory of Etatism 275
2 National Prestige and the Rate of Exchange 277
3 The Regulation of Prices by Authoritative Decree 279
4 The Balance-of-Payments Theory as a Basis of Currency Policy 282
5 The Suppression of Speculation 286

PART THREE
MONEY AND BANKING

Chapter 15 The Business of Banking
1 Types of Banking Activity 293
2 The Banks as Negotiators of Credit 294
3 The Banks as Issuers of Fiduciary Media 296
4 Deposits as the Origin of Circulation Credit 300
5 The Granting of Circulation Credit 304
6 Fiduciary Media and the Nature of Indirect Exchange 308

Chapter 16 The Evolution of Fiduciary Media
1 The Two Ways of Issuing Fiduciary Media 311
2 Fiduciary Media and the Clearing System 314
3 Fiduciary Media in Domestic Trade 320
4 Fiduciary Media in International Trade 325

Chapter 17 Fiduciary Media and the Demand for Money
1 The Influence of Fiduciary Media on the Demand for Money in the Narrower Sense 331
2 The Fluctuations in the Demand for Money 334
3 The Elasticity of the System of Reciprocal Cancellation 336
4 The Elasticity of a Credit Circulation Based on Bills, Especially on Commodity Bills 339
5 The Significance of the Exclusive Employment of Bills as Cover for Fiduciary Media 347
6 The Periodical Rise and Fall in the Extent to Which Bank Credit Is Requisitioned 348
7 The Influence of Fiduciary Media on Fluctuations in the Objective Exchange Value of Money 352

Chapter 18 The Redemption of Fiduciary Media
1 The Necessity for Complete Equivalence Between Money and Money Substitutes 355
2 The Return of Fiduciary Media to the Issuer on Account of Lack of Confidence on the Part of the Holders 357
3 The Case Against the Issue of Fiduciary Media 359
4 The Redemption Fund 361
5 The So-called Banking Type of Cover for Fiduciary Media 368
6 The Significance of Short-Term Cover 371
7 The Security of the Investments of the Credit-issuing Banks 372
8 Foreign Bills of Exchange as a Component of the Redemption Fund 374

Chapter 19 Money, Credit, and Interest
1 On the Nature of the Problem 377
2 The Connection Between Variations in the Ratio Between the Stock of Money and the Demand for Money and Fluctuations in the Rate of Interest 384
3 The Connection Between the Equilibrium Rate and the Money Rate of Interest 388
4 The Influence of the Interest Policy of the Credit-issuing Banks on Production 396
5 Credit and Economic Crises 403

Chapter 20 Problems of Credit Policy
(I) Prefatory Remark
1 The Conflict of Credit Policies 405

(II) Problems of Credit Policy Before the War
2 Peel's Act 406
3 The Nature of Discount Policy 412
4 The Gold-Premium Policy 416
5 Systems Similar to the Gold-Premium Policy 421
6 The Nonsatisfaction of the So-called Illegitimate Demand for Money 423
7 Other Measures for Strengthening the Stock of Metal Held by the Central Banks-of-Issue 425
8 The Promotion of Check and Clearing Transactions as a Means of Reducing the Rate of Discount 426

(III) Problems of Credit Policy in the Period Immediately After the War
9 The Gold-Exchange Standard 429
10 A Return to a Gold Currency 432
11 The Problem of the Freedom of the Banks 434
12 Fisher's Proposal for a Commodity Standard 438
13 The Basic Questions of Future Currency Policy 445

PART FOUR
MONETARY RECONSTRUCTION
(This part was written in 1952 and first appeared in the 1953 American edition by Yale University Press)

Chapter 21 The Principle of Sound Money
1 The Classical Idea of Sound Money 453
2 The Virtues and Alleged Shortcomings of the Gold Standard 456
3 The Full-Employment Doctrine 463
4 The Emergency Argument in Favor of Inflation 466

Chapter 22 Contemporary Currency Systems
1 The Inflexible Gold Standard 471
2 The Flexible Standard 472
3 The Freely Vacillating Currency 473
4 The Illusive Standard 474

Chapter 23 The Return to Sound Money
1 Monetary Policy and the Present Trend Toward All-round Planning 477
2 The Integral Gold Standard 480
3 Currency Reform in Ruritania 485
4 The United States' Return to a Sound Currency 490
5 The Controversy Concerning the Choice of the New Gold Parity 495
6 Concluding Remarks 499

Appendix A On the Classification of Monetary Theories
This Appendix was first published as a journal article in 1917-1918, it was later used as a chapter in the 2nd German edition of 1924, but was then relegated to the Appendix in the Batson translation of 1934)
1 Catallactic and Acatallactic Monetary Doctrine 503
2 The "State" Theory of Money 506
3 Schumpeter's Attempt to Formulate a Catallactic Claim Theory 512
4 "Metallism" 515
5 The Concept of "Metallism" in Wieser and Philippovich 518
6 Note: The Relation of the Controversy About Nominalism to the Problems of the Two English Schools of Banking Theory 524

Appendix B Translator's Note on the Translation of Certain Technical Terms 525

Index 527

Biographical Note 539

Note on Silver Demereteia 541