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George Selgin
George Selgin
	Selgin speaks at the Ron Paul Fed Lecture Series in 2019
Born	1957 (age 66–67)
Nationality	American
Academic career
Field	Macroeconomics, monetary theory, banking theory, and monetary history
Institution	The Cato Institute
School or; tradition	Free banking; formerly Austrian school; (does not self-identify with any school)
Alma mater	New York University (PhD) 1986; Drew University (B.A.) 1979
Influences	Friedman, Hayek, David Laidler, White, Wicksell, Leland Yeager
	Information at IDEAS / RePEc

George Selgin (/ˈsɛldʒɪn/; born February 15, 1957) is an American economist. He is Senior Fellow and Director Emeritus of the Cato Institute's Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, where he is editor-in-chief of the center's blog, Alt-M,^[1] Professor Emeritus of economics at the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, and an associate editor of Econ Journal Watch.^[2] Selgin formerly taught at George Mason University, the University of Hong Kong, and West Virginia University.

Research

Selgin's research covers a broad range of topics within the field of monetary economics, including monetary history, macroeconomic theory, and the history of monetary thought. He is one of the founders, along with Kevin Dowd and Lawrence H. White, of the Modern Free Banking School,^[3] which draws its inspiration from the writings of Friedrich Hayek on denationalization of money and choice in currency.^[4] A central claim of the Free Banking School is that the effects of government intervention in monetary systems cannot be properly appreciated except with reference to a theory of monetary laissez-faire, analogous to the theory of free trade that informs the modern understanding of the effects of tariffs and other trade barriers.^[5] The free bankers argue that, viewed in light of such a theory, financial crises and business cycles are largely attributable to misguided government interference with freely-evolved and competitive monetary arrangements, including legislation granting central banks exclusive rights to issue paper currency.^[6]

Selgin is also known for his advocacy of a "productivity norm" for monetary policy—an ideal according to which the growth-rate of nominal gross domestic product should be such as will allow the (output) price level to decline along with goods' real (unit) costs of production—that is, at a rate opposite the growth rate of total factor productivity.^[7] According to Selgin, by preventing mild deflation in response to productivity gains, monetary authorities risk inadvertently fueling unsustainable booms or economic bubbles, setting the stage for consequent busts and recession.^[8] Because it requires that aggregate spending grow at a steady rate equal to the trend growth rate of weighted factor input growth, Selgin's ideal amounts to a version of nominal income targeting, which helped to inspire and inform the post-Great Recession movement favoring NGDP targeting.

Selgin is considered a Bitcoin OG ("Original Gangsta"),^[9] having taken part in the original cypherpunk mailing list (with Wei Dei and Nick Szabo) that led to Bitcoin's invention, which Hal Finney and Nick Szabo say he helped to inspire.^[9] He was one of the first economists to explore the economics of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.^[10] He is also an expert on the history and economics of old-fashioned metallic coinage. His book Good Money^[11] tells the story of the private minting of coins during Great Britain's Industrial Revolution. He is one of the foremost authorities on Gresham's law—the oldest of all economic laws concerning money.^[12]^[13]

Since he joined the Cato Institute, Selgin has become a leading critic of some of the Federal Reserve's post-crisis policies, including its decision to permanently switch to an ample reserves or "floor" operating system, and its decision to build a "real time" retail payments network to compete with one established by commercial bankers.^[14]^[15] Most recently, he has taken on the growing movement to have the Fed make use of its quantitative easing powers, not solely to combat recessions, but as a means for funding ambitious government projects that can bypass Congress's normal appropriations process.^[16]

Selgin is the twin brother of author and illustrator Peter Selgin and the half-brother of anthropologist Clare Selgin Wolfowitz. His other half-sister, Ann Selgin Levy, is a fabric artist and culinary author. His father, Paul Selgin, was an inventor whose numerous patents include many for optical measuring devices for use in manufacturing.

Education

Ph.D., Economics, New York University, 1986
B.A., Economics and Zoology, Drew University, 1979

Published works

Books

The Menace of Fiscal QE (2020). ISBN 978-1-94864-793-9
Floored! How a Misguided Fed Experiment Deepened and Prolonged the Great Recession (2018). ISBN 978-1-94864-708-3
Less Than Zero: The Case for a Falling Price Level in a Growing Economy (2018). ISBN 978-1-94864-710-6
Money: Free & Unfree (2017). ISBN 978-1-94442-430-5
Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage (2008). ISBN 978-0-472-11631-7.
Less Than Zero: The Case for a Falling Price Level in a Growing Economy (1997). ISBN 0-255-36402-4.
Bank Deregulation and Monetary Order (1996). ISBN 0-415-14056-0.
Readings in Money and Banking (1995). ISBN 0-536-58930-5.
The Theory of Free Banking: Money Supply under Competitive Note Issue (1988). ISBN 0-8476-7578-5.

Scholarly Articles

Selgin, George. (2020). "On Targeting the Price of Gold"[1]
Selgin, George. (2019)."The Fed's New Operating Framework: How We Got Here and Why We Shouldn't Stay" Cato Journal
Selgin, George. (2016)."Real and Pseudo Monetary Rules" (2016). Cato Journal
Selgin, George and Bahadir, Berrak. (2015). "The Productivity Gap: Monetary Policy, the Subprime Boom, and the Post-2011 Productivity Surge". Journal of Policy Modeling
Selgin, George. (2015)."Law, Legislation, and the Gold Standard".Cato Journal
Selgin, George. (2014)."Operation Twist-the-Truth: How the Federal Reserve Misrepresents Its History and Performance". Cato Journal
Selgin, George. (2013). "Those Dishonest Goldsmiths". Financial History Review
Selgin, George. (2013) "Synthetic Commodity Money". Journal of Financial Stability
Selgin, George. (2013)."Incredible Commitments: Why the EMU Is Destroying Both Europe and Itself". Cato Journal
Selgin, George, Lastrapes, William D., and White, Lawrence H.. (2012)."Has the Fed Been a Failure?". Journal of Macroeconomics
Selgin, George and Lastrapes, William. (2012). "Banknotes and Economic Growth". Scottish Journal of Political Economy
Selgin, George. (2012)."L Street: Bagehotian Prescriptions for a 21st Century Money Market". Cato Journal
Selgin, George and Turner, John. (2011) "Strong Steam, Weak Patents, or, the Myth of Watt's Innovation-Blocking Monopoly, Exploded". Journal of Law & Economics
Selgin, George. (2010)."The Futility of Central Banking". Cato Journal
Selgin, George. (2010). "Mere Quibbles: Bagus and Howden's Critique of the Theory of Free Banking". Review of Austrian Economics
Selgin, George. (2010). "Central Banks as Sources of Financial Instability". The Independent Review
Selgin, George. (2009). "The Institutional Roots of Great Britain's 'Big Problem of Small Change^{[dead link‍]}'." European Review of Economic History
Selgin, George and Turner, John. (2009). "Watt, Again? Boldrin and Levine Still Exaggerate the Adverse Effects of Patents on the Progress of Steam Power." Review of Law and Economics
Selgin, George. (2009). "100 Percent Reserve Money: The Small Change Challenge." Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics
Selgin, George. (2008)."Milton Friedman and the Case against Currency Monopoly". Cato Journal
Selgin, George and VanHoose, D.. (2007). "The Euro and World Inflation.^{[dead link‍]}" Oxford Economic Papers
Selgin, George and Turner, John. (2006). "James Watt as Intellectual Monopolist: Comment on Boldrin and Levine." International Economics Review
Selgin, George and White, Lawrence. (2005). "Credible Currency: A Constitutionalist Perspective." Constitutional Political Economy
Selgin, George. (2005). "Charles Wyatt, Manager of the Parys Mine Mint: A Study in Ingratitude." British Numismatic Journal
Selgin, George. (2005)."Currency Privatization as a Substitute for Currency Boards and Dollarization". Cato Journal
Selgin, George. (2004). "Wholesale Payments: Questioning the Market-Failure Hypothesis." International Review of Law and Economics
Selgin, George. (2003). "Steam, Hot Air, and Small Change: Matthew Boulton and the Reform of Britain's Coinage." The Economic History Review
Selgin, George. (2003). "Adaptive Learning and the Transition to Fiat Money." The Economic Journal
Selgin, George. (2001). "In-Concert Overexpansion and the Precautionary Demand for Bank Reserves." Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking
Selgin, George. (2001)."You Call That Deregulation? A Critical Examination of Hugh Thomas's Proposal to Deregulate Banking". Cato Journal
Selgin, George. (2000). "The Suppression of State Bank Notes: A Reconsideration." Economic Inquiry
Selgin, George. (1999). "Hayek versus Keynes on How the Price Level Ought to Behave." History of Political Economy
Selgin, George and Taylor, Jason. (1999). "By Our Bootstraps: Origins and Effects of the High-Wage Doctrine"Journal of Labor Research
Selgin, George and White, Lawrence. (1999). "A Fiscal Theory of Governments' Role in Money"Economic Inquiry
Selgin, George. (2000)."World Monetary Policy After The Echo". Cato Journal
Selgin, George. (1999)."Ludwig von Mises and the Case for Gold". Cato Journal
Selgin, George. (1999). "A Plea for (Mild) Deflation". Cato Journal
Selgin, George. (1997). "A Regulatory Placebo? Or, the Strange Case of Dr. Kaufman and Mr. Seir". Cato Journal
Selgin, George and Lastrapes, William. (1997). "The Check Tax: Fiscal Folly and the Great Monetary Contraction" Journal of Economic History
Selgin, George and White, Lawrence. (1997). "The Option Clause in Scottish Banking" Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking
Selgin, George. (1996). "Salvaging Gresham's Law: the Good, the Bad, and the Illegal." Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking
Selgin, George and White, Lawrence. (1996). "In Defense of Fiduciary Media" Review of Austrian Economics
Selgin, George and Foldvary, Fred. (1995). "The Dependency of Wage Contracts on Monetary Policy" Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics
Selgin, George. (1995). "The Case for a 'Productivity Norm': Comment on Dowd." Journal of Macroeconomics
Selgin, George. (1995). "The 'Productivity Norm' vs. Zero Inflation in the History of Economic Thought." History of Political Economy
Selgin, George and Lastrapes, William. (1995). "The Liquidity Effect: Identifying Short-Run Interest Rate Dynamics using Long-Run Restrictions" Journal of Macroeconomics
Selgin, George. (1995). "Bank Self-Regulation: Comment on Bordo and Schwartz". Cato Journal
Selgin, George and White, Lawrence. (1994). "How Would the Invisible Hand Handle Money?" Journal of Economic Literature
Selgin, George. (1994). "Free Banking and Monetary Control." Economic Journal
Selgin, George and White, Lawrence. (1994). "Monetary Reform and the Redemption of National Bank Notes, 1863–1913" Business History Review
Selgin, George. (1994). "On Ensuring the Acceptability of a New Fiat Money." Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking
Selgin, George and Lastrapes, William. (1994). "Buffer-Stock Money: Interpreting Short-Run Dynamics Using Long-Run Restrictions" Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking
Selgin, George. (1994). "Are Banking Crises Free-Market Phenomena?" Critical Review
Selgin, George. (1994). "Banking is Different, Because it is Regulated." Cato Journal
Selgin, George. (1993). "In Defense of Bank Suspension." Journal of Financial Services Research
Selgin, George. (1992). "On Foot-Loose Prices and Forecast-Free Monetary Regimes." Cato Journal
Selgin, George. (1992). "Bank Lending 'Manias' in Theory and History." Journal of Financial Services Research
Selgin, George and White, Lawrence. (1990). "Laissez‑Faire Monetary Theorists in Late Nineteenth Century America" Southern Economic Journal
Selgin, George and Boudreaux, Don. (1990). "L. Albert Hahn: Precursor of Keynesianism and the 'Monetarist Counterrevolution'" History of Political Economy
Selgin, George and White, Lawrence. (1990). "Laissez‑Faire Monetary Thought in Jacksonian America" Perspectives on the History of Economic Thought
Selgin, George. (1990). "Why Does Europe Want a Federal Reserve System?" Cato Journal
Selgin, George. (1990). "Monetary Equilibrium and the Productivity Norm of Price-Level Policy". Cato Journal
Selgin, George. (1989). "Legal Restrictions, Financial Weakening, and the Lender of Last Resort". Cato Journal
Selgin, George. (1989). "The Analytical Framework of the Real‑Bills Doctrine." Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics
Selgin, George. (1989). "Commercial Banks as Pure Intermediaries: Between 'Old' and 'New' Views." Southern Economic Journal
Selgin, George. (1989). "Legal Restrictions, Financial Weakening, and the Lender of Last Resort." Cato Journal
Selgin, George. (1988). "The Stability and Efficiency of Money Supply under Free Banking." Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics
Selgin, George. (1988). "Praxeology and Understanding." Review of Austrian Economics
Selgin, George and White, Lawrence. (1988). "Competitive Monies and the Suffolk System: Comment" Southern Economic Journal
Selgin, George. (1988)."Central Banking: Myth and Reality." Hong Kong Economic Papers
Selgin, George. (1988). "Accommodating Changes in the Relative Demand for Currency: Free Banking vs. Central Banking". Cato Journal
Selgin, George and White, Lawrence. (1987). "The Evolution of a Free Banking System." Economic Inquiry

References

^ "Alt-M". Alt-M.
^ "Econ Journal Watch (EJW)". Archived from the original on 2009-08-30. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
^ Gedeon, Shirley (1997). "The modern free banking school: a review". Journal of Economic Issues. 31: 209–222. doi:10.1080/00213624.1997.11505898.
^ Hayek, Friedrich (1976). Denationalisation of Money: The Argument Refined. London: Institute of Economic Affairs. Archived from the original on 2010-12-09. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
^ Selgin, George; Lawrence H. White (December 1994). "How would the invisible hand handle money?". Journal of Economic Literature. 32 (4). American Economic Association: 1718–1749. JSTOR 2728792.
^ E.g., Selgin, George (Fall 1989). "Legal restrictions, financial weakening, and the lender of last resort" (PDF). The Cato Journal. 9 (2). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-07-27. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
^ Selgin, George (Spring–Summer 1990). "Monetary Equilibrium and the Productivity Norm of Price-Level Policy" (PDF). The Cato Journal. 10 (1). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-03-28. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
^ White, William R. (2006). "Is price stability enough?" (PDF). BIS Working Paper 205. Basel, Switzerland: Bank for International Settlements.
^ ^a ^b Szabo, Nick (2018-07-23). "Dr. Selgin was on the mailing list with Wei Dai and myself where in 1998 cryptocurrency (bit gold, and a bit later b-money) was invented. His description of free banking was very inspirational and informative". @NickSzabo4. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
^ Selgin, George (2015-04-01). "Synthetic commodity money". Journal of Financial Stability. Special Issue: Instead of the Fed: Past and Present Alternatives to the Federal Reserve System. 17: 92–99. doi:10.1016/j.jfs.2014.07.002. ISSN 1572-3089.
^ Selgin, George (2008). Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press and the Independent Institute. ISBN 978-0-472-11631-7.
^ "Gresham's Law". EH.Net Encyclopedia. June 9, 2003. Archived from the original on March 17, 2013.
^ Selgin, George (2018), Battilossi, Stefano; Cassis, Youssef; Yago, Kazuhiko (eds.), "Gresham's Law", Handbook of the History of Money and Currency, Springer, pp. 1–21, doi:10.1007/978-981-10-0622-7_9-1, ISBN 978-981-10-0622-7, S2CID 159020486
^ Selgin, George (2018-10-22). Floored!: How a Misguided Fed Experiment Deepened and Prolonged the Great Recession. ISBN 978-1948647083.
^ "Facilitating Faster Payments in the U.S." Cato Institute. 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
^ Selgin, George (2020-02-11). The Menace of Fiscal QE. ISBN 978-1948647939.