Whenever I get a friend sending me articles like this, Gold Standard = Fiat in Disguise, I find myself wishing that I had learned more about macro-economics. Of course, talking to my brother and other business degree grads, it seems that fiat systems aren’t discussed much in class either.
Unfortunately, Google isn’t much help either, as the search results more often than not turns up just short of (or beyond) loony, ultra-libertarian, chicken-little screeds. Of course, it’s enough to get one deeply worried, especially when taking a good look at the cold, hard numbers (more fun all over).
Here are a few links that I’ve gathered that seem fairly balanced on the topic:
- Wikipedia: Fiat Money – in case you wanna know wtf I’m talking about
- K5: What Makes Money Make Money? – another good primer, plus discussion
- FRB: Central Banking and Global Finance – Remarks by Chairman Alan Greenspan at the Catholic University Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, January 14, 1997
- FRB: The History of Money – Remarks by Chairman Alan Greenspan at the Opening of an American Numismatic Society Exhibition, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York, January 16, 2002
- Hard Questions for Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan – Congressman Ron Paul
U.S. House of Representatives, Financial Services Committee, July 17, 2002
- Cato Journal: The Emergence of Fiat Money: A Reconsideration
- ICES at George Mason University: Why Stable Fiat Money Hyperinflates: Results from an Experimental Economy
- Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Quarterly Review: The Technological Role of Fiat Money