Books, papers and longer perspectives on money and the economy.
There is frequent debate about the valuation of any asset or asset class. Sometimes the debate is fierce, and few investment topics evoke as much passion and controversy as gold — especially among professional…
Read the articleSummary This paper seeks to establish a measure of currency quantity that helps economists identify and estimate the risk that confidence in fiat currencies might be significantly eroded or even vanish altogether. It is…
Read the articleIt is more than 20 years since the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. One would think that the rest of the world had learned one obvious lesson from this — that free market economics offers…
Read the articleThe London Bullion Market is the global trading centre for physical gold, and the Bank of England holds gold on behalf of other central banks. There are a number of historical reasons the Bank has this privileged role,…
Read the articleWith the rising gold price this past decade, there has been some discussion about the size of gold's aboveground stock, but little recent analysis of it. To provide an accurate accounting of this stock and to explain…
Read the articleI make this speech in the earnest hope that Croatia, which has emerged from decades of totalitarianism, along with her neighbouring countries, will not make the mistakes we have made. And by "we", I refer to the…
Read the articleIn a recent article in Fortune, Warren Buffett reiterated his well-known view on money. Far less celebrated, however, is the discerning view of his father, Howard Buffett, expounded in a brilliant speech in 1948 while…
Read the articleIn one important respect, gold is like any other asset. You want to buy it when it is undervalued, and sell it when the opposite is true – when it becomes overvalued. Thus, knowing how to accurately value gold is…
Read the articleI am no fan of Keynesian economics. I find most Keynesian economic theories to be just plain wrong. But for the sake of truth and accuracy, I would like to correct a terrible injustice levied upon Keynes and, at the…
Read the articleAll money in the world today, except gold, is someone else's liability. Consider a checking account: You deposit money. It is your asset, but the bank's liability; if the bank becomes insolvent and cannot meet its…
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