Alternative Money University

I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be teaching in a four day program called “Alternative Money University”, organized by George Selgin. The program will take place July 15-18 at the Cato Institute in Washington DC, and George provides some information about registering in his blog:

Students in or entering their last year of undergraduate or beginning years of graduate studies are invited to apply. Successful applicants will be chosen on the basis of their academic records and demonstrated interest in monetary economics.

Those chosen to take part will attend, free of charge (with hotel and travel expenses covered by the Cato Institute), several thought-provoking academic seminars led by top scholars in the field. This year’s seminars will include:

The Evolution of Money and Banks,” taught by George Selgin, the director of Cato’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternative and professor emeritus of economics at the University of Georgia.

The Economics of Commodity Money (and Bitcoin),” taught by Lawrence H. White, professor of economics at George Mason University, blogger for aksjebloggen.com and senior fellow at the Cato Institute.

The Role of Monetary Policy in the Great Recession,” taught by David Beckworth, senior research fellow in the Program on Monetary Policy at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and host of the Macro Musings podcast.

Monetary Rules vs. Discretion,” taught by, Scott Sumner, Ralph G. Hawtrey Chair of Monetary Policy and director of the Program on Monetary Policy at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and professor emeritus at Bentley University.

If you wish to apply, or to learn more about the program, visit www.cato.org/amu. Applications are open until January 31, 2018.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard will be providing a keynote address at the beginning of the event.

I’m not sure about the logistics of doing this, but I’d like to use the unpublished manuscript for my new book as a teaching resource. This book will be called “The Money Illusion: Market Monetarism and the Great Recession”, and will be based on my last 9 years of blogging. If I’m able to do so, then students in my course would be the first to use this book in a class.

I’m really looking forward to this project. I’ve never actually taught a course where most of the students wanted to be there—where most of the students actually want to learn the material. So it will be a new experience for me.


Tags:

 
 
 

13 Responses to “Alternative Money University”

  1. Gravatar of John Ruf John Ruf
    24. January 2018 at 11:45

    Hello Mr. Sumner,

    I am a young student interested in the conference but will not be available to go, will the conference be recorded or available online?

    When do you expect for your book to be published, and what do you recommend on knowing prior to reading the book? I was thinking I may get it after I finish my intro to macroeconomics course.

    Have a great day, and break a leg at the conference!

  2. Gravatar of E. Harding E. Harding
    24. January 2018 at 11:58

    This book will be called “The Money Illusion: Market Monetarism and the Great Recession”, and will be based on my last 9 years of blogging.

    Wow if true. Very proud of you that you’ve managed to write it. Thought the TDS and the move to OC would delay things.

  3. Gravatar of Patrick R. Sullivan Patrick R. Sullivan
    24. January 2018 at 12:07

    https://files.stlouisfed.org/files/htdocs/publications/review/2018/01/10/a-short-introduction-to-the-world-of-cryptocurrencies.pdf

    ‘The [island nation of] Yap system was based on a distributed ledger, in which every inhabitant would keep track of a stone’s ownership. When a buyer made a purchase, this person told his or her neighbors that the stone now belonged to the seller. The neighbors then spread the news until finally all of the island’s inhabitants had been informed about the change in ownership (Figure 4).

    ‘Through this communication, every islander had a precise idea of which unit of value belonged to which person at any point in time.
    In its essential features, the Yap payment system is very similar to the Bitcoin system. A major difference is that in the Yap system false reports could not be immediately identified, so conflicts regarding the current state of the implicit ledger would have to be argued and settled by the group. The Yap system therefore was restricted to a group of manageable size with close relationships, in which misconduct could be punished by the group. In contrast,
    the Bitcoin system is designed to function in a network where no participant can trust any other participant. This feature is necessary because it is a permissionless payment system in
    which participants can remain anonymous through the use of pseudonyms.’

  4. Gravatar of Patrick R. Sullivan Patrick R. Sullivan
    24. January 2018 at 12:09

    Maybe bitcoin could be called, The Island of Stoner Money.

  5. Gravatar of ssumner ssumner
    24. January 2018 at 12:39

    John, I’m not sure if it will be online, I’ll let you know.

    I’m also not sure about the timeline for the book–I’d guess about one year.

    Patrick, Yes, that’s a good example.

  6. Gravatar of Randomize Randomize
    24. January 2018 at 12:42

    I’d also be interested in taking it in remotely or (better yet) in person when you take the show on tour. Seattle is lovely in late August.

  7. Gravatar of Lorenzo from Oz Lorenzo from Oz
    24. January 2018 at 14:36

    Yay! Book!

  8. Gravatar of B Cole B Cole
    24. January 2018 at 17:10

    I think washed-up financial journalists should be allowed attend, with equal treatment but also free lunches.

  9. Gravatar of Anthony McNease Anthony McNease
    25. January 2018 at 10:32

    FYI, you are quoted in a pretty good piece on Yellen over at Politico.

    https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/01/24/janet-yellen-fed-chair-donald-trump-216509

  10. Gravatar of Christian List Christian List
    25. January 2018 at 13:28

    Maybe a bit OT but funny:

    European Central Bank president Mario Draghi has taken a thinly-veiled swipe at the US treasury secretary for talking down the dollar, highlighting an agreement that countries should “not target our exchange rates for competitive purposes”.

    https://www.ft.com/content/37253596-01d8-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5

    It reminds my of the countless times when Draghi talks about interest rates and „credit easing“.

    Oftentimes I don’t even know what Draghi is talking about. What’s his point? Does he even know himself what he’s doing at his job?

    Okay he’s better than Trichet and all those German idiots, but still.

  11. Gravatar of TravisV TravisV
    25. January 2018 at 13:42

    I’m rather surprised comments from Mnuchin and Trump can impact the dollar this month. After all, neither is on the FOMC…….

    https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/25/us-dollar-slammed-as-mnuchin-abandons-strong-dollar-mantra.html

  12. Gravatar of TravisV TravisV
    25. January 2018 at 13:43

    Excuse me, this much.

  13. Gravatar of ssumner ssumner
    26. January 2018 at 08:07

    Anthony, Thanks, I’ll do a post on that over at Econlog.

    Travis, I am also surprised by the market reaction.

Leave a Reply