Banking's Past, Present, and Future
The Wall Street Journal has demonstrated nostalgia for the gold standard by publishing two pro-gold standard opinion pieces this week. Both are long on nostalgia and short on analytical content. On Tuesday, long-time gold enthusiast Lewis Lehrman made his pitch, arguing that a return to the gold standard was necessary to restore fiscal balance. I … Read more
Barry Eichengreen has some deservedly sharp words for European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the German government over the Irish “rescue package.” Likening it to the punitive reparations burden imposed on German at the end of World War I, Eichengreen points out that the bailout does not, in fact, reduce Ireland’s debt one bit, … Read more
Writing in the Financial Times, World Bank President Robert Zoellick argues for greater economic coordination among the G20 nations. It was not clear from his op-ed exactly how coordinated a system he envisions. On the one hand, he calls for a monetary system to succeed Bretton Woods, implying a system of fixed exchange rates (and … Read more
One of the nice things I have discovered about doing jury duty is that when it is all over, the judge usually comes in to thank the jurors for their service (or for coming down to the courthouse, if they don’t end up on a jury). When the judge discovered that I am an economist … Read more