George Selgin

Short description: American economist (born 1957)

George Selgin

Selgin speaks at the Ron Paul Fed Lecture Series in 2012.

Born|  (1957-02-15) February 15, 1957 (age 69)
Nationality| American
Institution| The University of Georgia
Field| Macroeconomics, monetary theory, banking theory, and monetary history
School or
tradition| Free banking

Alma mater| New York University (PhD) 1986
Drew University (B.A.) 1979
Influences| Friedman, Hayek, David Laidler, White, Wicksell, Leland Yeager
Information at IDEAS / RePEc

George Selgin (/ˈsɛldʒɪn/; born February 15, 1957) is an American economist. Before retiring in July, 2025, he was a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, the founding Director of its Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, and editor-in-chief of that Center's online publication, Alt-M.[1] He is also Professor Emeritus of economics at the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, an Honorary Professor at Francisco Marroquin University, and an associate editor of Econ Journal Watch.[2] Selgin previously taught at George Mason University, the University of Hong Kong, and West Virginia University

## Contents

* 1 Research
* 2 Education
* 3 Published works
* 3.1 Books
* 3.2 Scholarly articles
* 4 References
* 5 External links

## 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 and Lawrence H. White, of the Modern Free Banking School,[3] which draws its inspiration from the writings of Friedrich Hayek on denationalization of money and choice in currency.[4] 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, analogous to the theory of free trade that informs the modern understanding of the effects of tariffs and other trade barriers.[5] The free bankers argue that, viewed in light of such a theory, financial crises and business cycles are largely attributable to misguided government interference with freely-evolved and competitive monetary arrangements, including legislation granting central banks exclusive rights to issue paper currency.[6]

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 should be such as will allow the (output) price level to decline along with goods' real (unit) costs of production—that is, at a rate opposite the growth rate of total factor productivity.[7] According to Selgin, by preventing mild deflation in response to productivity gains, monetary authorities risk inadvertently fueling unsustainable booms or economic bubbles, setting the stage for consequent busts and recession.[8] 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"),[9] having taken part in the original cypherpunk mailing list (with Wei Dei and Nick Szabo) that led to Bitcoin's invention, which Hal Finney and Nick Szabo say he helped to inspire.[9] He was one of the first economists to explore the economics of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.[10] He is also an expert on the history and economics of old-fashioned metallic coinage. His book Good Money[11] tells the story of the private minting of coins during Great Britain's Industrial Revolution. He is one of the foremost authorities on Gresham's law—the oldest of all economic laws concerning money.[12][13]

Since he joined the Cato Institute, Selgin has become a leading critic of some of the Federal Reserve'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.[14][15] Most recently, he has taken on the growing movement to have the Fed make use of its quantitative easing powers, not solely to combat recessions, but as a means for funding ambitious government projects that can bypass Congress's normal appropriations process.[16]

Selgin is the twin brother of author and illustrator Peter Selgin 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 whose numerous patents include many for optical measuring devices for use in manufacturing.

## Education

* Ph.D., Economics, New York University, 1986
* B.A., Economics and Zoology, Drew University, 1979

## Published works

### Books

* False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery, 1933-1947 (2025). ISBN 978-0-22683-293-7
* The Menace of Fiscal QE (2020). ISBN 978-1-94864-793-9
* Floored! How a Misguided Fed Experiment Deepened and Prolonged the Great Recession (2018). ISBN 978-1-94864-708-3
* Less Than Zero: The Case for a Falling Price Level in a Growing Economy (2018). ISBN 978-1-94864-710-6
* Money: Free & Unfree (2017). ISBN 978-1-94442-430-5
* Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage (2008). ISBN 978-0-472-11631-7.
* Less Than Zero: The Case for a Falling Price Level in a Growing Economy (1997). ISBN 0-255-36402-4.
* Bank Deregulation and Monetary Order (1996). ISBN 0-415-14056-0.
* Readings in Money and Banking (1995). ISBN 0-536-58930-5.
* The Theory of Free Banking: Money Supply under Competitive Note Issue (1988). ISBN 0-8476-7578-5.

### Scholarly articles

* Selgin, George. (2020). "On Targeting the Price of Gold"[1]
* 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

1. ↑ "Alt-M". https://www.alt-m.org/.
2. ↑ "Econ Journal Watch (EJW)". http://www.aier.org/ejw.
3. ↑ Gedeon, Shirley (1997). "The modern free banking school: a review". Journal of Economic Issues 31: 209–222. doi:10.1080/00213624.1997.11505898.
4. ↑ Hayek, Friedrich (1976). Denationalisation of Money: The Argument Refined. London: Institute of Economic Affairs. http://www.iea.org.uk/record.jsp?type=book&ID=431. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
5. ↑ Selgin, George; Lawrence H. White (December 1994). "How would the invisible hand handle money?". Journal of Economic Literature (American Economic Association) 32 (4): 1718–1749.
6. ↑ E.g., Selgin, George (Fall 1989). "Legal restrictions, financial weakening, and the lender of last resort". The Cato Journal 9 (2). http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj9n2/cj9n2-9.pdf. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
7. ↑ Selgin, George (Spring–Summer 1990). "Monetary Equilibrium and the Productivity Norm of Price-Level Policy". The Cato Journal 10 (1). http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj10n1/cj10n1-14.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
8. ↑ White, William R. (2006). "Is price stability enough?". BIS Working Paper 205 (Basel, Switzerland: Bank for International Settlements). http://www.bis.org/publ/work205.pdf.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Szabo, Nick (2018-07-23). "Dr. Selgin was on the mailing list with Wei Dai and myself where in 1998 cryptocurrency (bit gold, and a bit later b-money) was invented. His description of free banking was very inspirational and informative." (in en). https://twitter.com/NickSzabo4/status/1021650312350691328.
10. ↑ Selgin, George (2015-04-01). "Synthetic commodity money" (in en). Journal of Financial Stability. Special Issue: Instead of the Fed: Past and Present Alternatives to the Federal Reserve System 17: 92–99. doi:10.1016/j.jfs.2014.07.002. ISSN 1572-3089.
11. ↑ Selgin, George (2008). Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press and the Independent Institute. ISBN 978-0-472-11631-7.
12. ↑ "Gresham's Law". EH.Net Encyclopedia. June 9, 2003. http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/selgin.gresham.law.
13. ↑ Selgin, George (2018), Battilossi, Stefano; Cassis, Youssef; Yago, Kazuhiko, eds., "Gresham's Law" (in en), Handbook of the History of Money and Currency (Springer): pp. 1–21, doi:10.1007/978-981-10-0622-7_9-1, ISBN 978-981-10-0622-7
14. ↑ Selgin, George (2018-10-22). Floored!: How a Misguided Fed Experiment Deepened and Prolonged the Great Recession. ISBN 978-1948647083.
15. ↑ "Facilitating Faster Payments in the U.S." (in en). 2019-09-25. https://www.cato.org/publications/testimony/facilitating-faster-payments-us.
16. ↑ Selgin, George (2020-02-11). The Menace of Fiscal QE. ISBN 978-1948647939.

## 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's Region Focus (Winter 2009) [2]
* Roberts, Russ. "George Selgin Podcasts". EconTalk. Library of Economics and Liberty. http://www.econtalk.org/archives/_featuring/george_selgin/.
* Selgin on YouTube, lecture on "The Private Supply of Money" (recorded at the annual Austrian Scholars Conference, Ludwig von Mises Institute, 14 March 2009)
* Appearances on C-SPAN
* "Me, Murray, and Milton" (Selgin on Austrian economics; July 28, 2011) [3]
* George Selgin at Mises.org
* George Selgin publications indexed by Google Scholar

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