George Selgin (; born February 15, 1957) is an American economist. He is Senior Fellow and Director Emeritus of the

Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch ...

's Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, where he is editor-in-chief of the center's blog, ''Alt-M'', Professor Emeritus of

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

at the

Terry College of Business Terry is a unisex diminutive nickname for the given names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence, Terrance (masculine). People Male * Terry A. Canales, American politician * Terry A. Doughty (born 1959), American district judge * Terry A. ...

at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

, and an associate editor of ''

Econ Journal Watch ''Econ Journal Watch'' is a semiannual peer-reviewed electronic journal established in 2004. It is published by the Fraser Institute. According its website, the journal publishes comments on articles appearing in other economics journals, essays, r ...

''. Selgin formerly taught at

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

, the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

, and

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

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 Kevin Dowd is a British economist, having research interests in private money and free banking, monetary systems and macroeconomics, financial risk measurement and management, political economy and policy analysis, and pensions and mortality m ...

and

Lawrence H. White Lawrence Henry White (born November 27, 1954) is an American economics professor at George Mason University who teaches graduate level monetary theory and policy. He is considered an authority on the history and theory of free banking. His writin ...

, of the Modern

Free Banking Free banking is a monetary arrangement where banks are free to issue their own paper currency ( banknotes) while also being subject to no special regulations beyond those applicable to most enterprises. In a free banking system, market forces co ...

School, which draws its inspiration from the writings of

Friedrich Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek (8 May 1899 – 23 March 1992) was an Austrian-born British academic and philosopher. He is known for his contributions to political economy, political philosophy and intellectual history. Hayek shared the 1974 Nobe ...

on denationalization of money and choice in currency. 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 ''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...

, analogous to the theory of

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

that informs the modern understanding of the effects of

tariffs A tariff or import tax is a duty imposed by a national government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods or raw materials and is ...

and other

trade barriers Trade barriers are government-induced restrictions on international trade. According to the theory of comparative advantage, trade barriers are detrimental to the world economy and decrease overall economic efficiency. Most trade barriers work o ...

. The free bankers argue that, viewed in light of such a theory,

financial crises A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with Bank run#Systemic banki ...

and

business cycles Business cycles are intervals of general expansion followed by recession in economic performance. The changes in economic activity that characterize business cycles have important implications for the welfare of the general population, governmen ...

are largely attributable to misguided government interference with freely-evolved and competitive monetary arrangements, including legislation granting

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...

s exclusive rights to issue paper

currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...

. 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 Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

should be such as will allow the (output)

price level The general price level is a hypothetical measure of overall prices for some set of goods and services (the consumer basket), in an economy or monetary union during a given interval (generally one day), normalized relative to some base set. ...

to decline along with goods' real (unit) costs of production—that is, at a rate opposite the growth rate of total factor productivity. According to Selgin, by preventing mild

deflation In economics, deflation is a decrease in the general price level of goods and services. Deflation occurs when the inflation rate falls below 0% and becomes negative. While inflation reduces the value of currency over time, deflation increases i ...

in response to

productivity Productivity is the efficiency of production of goods or services expressed by some measure. Measurements of productivity are often expressed as a ratio of an aggregate output to a single input or an aggregate input used in a production proce ...

gains, monetary authorities risk inadvertently fueling unsustainable booms or

economic bubble An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

s, setting the stage for consequent busts and

recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction that occurs when there is a period of broad decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be tr ...

. 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"), having taken part in the original

cypherpunk A cypherpunk is one who advocates the widespread use of strong cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies as a means of effecting social and political change. The cypherpunk movement originated in the late 1980s and gained traction with th ...

mailing list (with Wei Dei and

Nick Szabo Nicholas Szabo is an American computer scientist, legal scholar, and cryptographer known for his research in smart contracts and digital currency. Personal life Szabo currently resides in Seattle, Washington and is married to Michelle Szabo. ...

) that led to Bitcoin's invention, which Hal Finney and Nick Szabo say he helped to inspire. He was one of the first economists to explore the economics of Bitcoin and other

cryptocurrencies A cryptocurrency (colloquially crypto) is a digital currency designed to work through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. Individual coin ownership records ...

. He is also an expert on the history and economics of old-fashioned metallic

coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

age. His book ''Good Money'' tells the story of the private minting of coins during Great Britain's

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

. He is one of the foremost authorities on

Gresham's law In economics, Gresham's law is a monetary principle stating that "bad money drives out good". For example, if there are two forms of commodity money in circulation, which are accepted by law as having similar face value, the more valuable commo ...

—the oldest of all economic laws concerning money. Since he joined the

, Selgin has become a leading critic of some of the

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...

'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. Most recently, he has taken on the growing movement to have the Fed make use of its

quantitative easing Quantitative easing (QE) is a monetary policy action where a central bank purchases predetermined amounts of government bonds or other financial assets in order to stimulate economic activity. Quantitative easing is a novel form of monetary polic ...

powers, not solely to combat recessions, but as a means for funding ambitious government projects that can bypass Congress's normal appropriations process. Selgin is the twin brother of author and illustrator

Peter Selgin Peter Selgin (; born 1957) is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, essayist, editor, and illustrator. Selgin is Associate Professor of English at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, Georgia. Biography The son of ...

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 An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

whose numerous

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

s include many for optical measuring devices for use in manufacturing.

Education

* Ph.D., Economics,

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, 1986 * B.A., Economics and Zoology,

Drew University Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey, United States. It has a wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three schools. While affiliated with the Methodism, Me ...

, 1979

Published works

Books

* ''The Menace of Fiscal QE'' (2020). * ''Floored! How a Misguided Fed Experiment Deepened and Prolonged the Great Recession'' (2018). * ''Less Than Zero: The Case for a Falling Price Level in a Growing Economy'' (2018). * ''Money: Free & Unfree'' (2017). * ''Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage'' (2008). . *
Less Than Zero: The Case for a Falling Price Level in a Growing Economy
' (1997). . * ''Bank Deregulation and Monetary Order'' (1996). . * ''Readings in Money and Banking'' (1995). . * ''The Theory of Free Banking: Money Supply under Competitive Note Issue'' (1988). .

Scholarly Articles

* Selgin, George. (2020). "On Targeting the Price of Gol

* 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
." ''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.
''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

External links

Selgin's Alt-M (blog) page

Selgin's Cato biography

Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives

Selgin's faculty homepage
* Interview of Selgin in the

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond is the headquarters of the Fifth District of the Federal Reserve located in Richmond, Virginia. It covers the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and most of West Virgini ...

's ''Region Focus'' (Winter 2009

* * , lecture on "The Private Supply of Money" (recorded at the annual Austrian Scholars Conference, Ludwig von Mises Institute, 14 March 2009) * * "Me, Murray Rothbard, Murray, and Milton" (Selgin on Austrian economics; July 28, 2011

George Selgin
at

Mises.org The Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics, or Mises Institute, is a nonprofit think tank headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, that is a center for Austrian economics, right-wing libertarian thought and the paleolibertarian and anarcho ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Selgin, George Austrian School economists 1957 births Living people University of Georgia faculty Monetary economists Drew University alumni