Bibliography on Fractional Reserve Banking

Economics Economics Questions
1

From Walter Block (if someone wants to reformat and post, great)

Fractional Reserve Banking::

I. Anti Fractional reserve banking frb::

Barnett and Block, 2005, 2008; Block, 2008; Block and Caplan, 2008; Block and Garschina, 1996; Block and Humphries, 2008; Block and Posner, 2008; Davidson, 2008; Hoppe, et. al. 1998; Hoppe, 1994; Hulsmann, 2000, 2002a, 2002b, 2003; Rothbard, 1962; de Soto, 1995, 2001

Barnett, William II and Walter Block. 2005. “In defense of fiduciary media— a comment; or, what’s wrong with “clown” or play money?” Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics; Vol. 8, No. 2, Summer, pp. 55-69; http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae8_2_4.pdf

Barnett, William and Walter Block. 2008. “Time deposits, dimensions and fraud,” Journal of Business Ethics; www.WalterBlock.com/publications (this one is more radical, in that is characterizes even some time deposit practices, not merely demand deposit practices, as fraudulent)

Block, Walter and Bryan Caplan. 2008. “Walter Block versus Bryan Caplan on Fractional Reserve Banking.” Nov 1; http://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block110.html

Block, Walter and Garschina, Kenneth M. 1996. “Hayek, Business Cycles and Fractional Reserve Banking: Continuing the De-Homoginization Process,” Review of Austrian Economics, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1995, pp. 77-94; http://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/rae9_1_3.pdf.

Block, Walter. 2008. “Is Fractional Reserve Banking Fraudulent?, rejoinder to Eric Posner,” November 6; http://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block111.html

Block, Walter. 2008. “Posner vs. Block on fractional reserve banking.” November, 29;

http://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block114.html

Block, Walter and John Humphries. 2008. “Humphries vs Block on fractional reserve banking.” November 17; http://alsblog.wordpress.com/2008/11/17/fractional-reserve-banking/

Davidson, Laura. “Fractional Reserve Banking Is Indeed Fraudulent,” November 17;

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig9/davidson-l1.html

Hoppe, Hans-Hermann, with Guido Hulsmann and Walter Block. 1998. “Against Fiduciary Media,” Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 19-50, http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae1_1_2.pdf;

Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. 1994. “How is Fiat Money Possible? or, The Devolution of Money and Credit,” Review of Austrian Economics, 7(2), pp. 49-74.

Hulsmann, Jorg Guido. 2000. “Banks Cannot Create Money”, The Independent Review: A Journal of Political Economy, vol. 5, no. 1, summer, 101—110; http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_05_1_hulsman.pdf

Hulsmann, Jorg Guido. 2002a. “Free Banking and the Free Bankers.” Review of Austrian Economics. Vol. 9, No. 1. pp. 3-53; http://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/rae9_1_1.pdf

Hulsmann, Jorg Guido. 2002b. “Free Banking Fractional Reserves: Reply to Pascal Salin.” Review of Austrian Economics, Vol. 1, No. 3.

http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae1_3_8.pdf

Hulsmann, Jorg Guido. 2003. “Has Fractional-Reserve Banking Really Passed the Market Test?,” Independent Review 7/3, Winter, 399-422. http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?a=90

Rothbard, Murray N. 1962. “The Case for a 100 Percent Gold Dollar,” In Search of a Monetary Constitution, Leland B. Yeager, ed., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 94-136, and Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1991. See also “The Logic of Action One” pp. 364-384; http://mises.org/daily/1829

Rothbard, Murray N. What Has Government Done to Our Money?, Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1990; http://mises.org/rothbard/rothmoney.pdf

de Soto, Jesús Huerta. 1995. “A Critical Analysis of Central Banks and Fractional-Reserve Free Banking from the Austrian Perspective,” Review of Austrian Economics, 8(2), pp. 25-38.

de Soto, Jesus Huerta. 2001. “A Critical Note on Fractional Reserve Free Banking,” The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, Vol. 1, No. 4, Fall, pp. 34-35

II. pro frb:

Sechrest, 1987, 1989a, 1989b, 1991a, 1991b, 1993, 2007; Selgin, 1994, 1998, 2007a, 2007b, 2007c; Selgin and White, 1996; White, 1992, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007a, 2007b, 2007c

Sechrest, Larry. 1987. “White’s Free Banking Thesis: A Case of Mistaken Identity,” Review of Austrian Economics, November, Vol. II, 247-57.

Sechrest, Larry. 1989a. Review of George Selgin’s The Theory of Free Banking, Journal of Economics, Vol. XV, 196-98.

Sechrest, Larry. 1989b. “Free Banking vs. Central Banking: A Geometrical Analysis,” South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, November, Vol. II, 83-97.

Sechrest, Larry. 1991a. “Free Banking in Scotland: A Dissenting View,” Cato Journal, Winter, Vol. 10, No. 3, 799-808.

Sechrest, Larry. 1991b. “Banking, Central and Free”, pages 145-51, Magill’s Survey of Social Science: Economics, Salem Press.

Sechrest, Larry. 1993. Free Banking: Theory, History, and a Laissez-Faire Model, Westport, Connecticut: Quorum Books, 1993.

Sechrest, Larry. 2007. “Free Banking Basics,” The Free Radical, July/August, Vol. 76, 40-41.

Selgin, George. 1994. “Free Banking and Monetary Control.” Economic Journal 104: 1449-59.

 

Selgin, George. 1998. *The Theory of Free Banking: Money Supply under Competitive Note Issue*.  Totowa, New Jersey:  Rowman & Littlefield

 

Selgin, George. 2000. “Should We Let Banks Create Money?” *The Independent Review*, v.V, n.1, Summer, pp. 93–100

 

Selgin, George. 2007a. “Is fractional-reserve banking inflationary?**”** January 23. *Free Market News Network;*

[http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/241/6794/banking.asp?nid=6794&wid=241](http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/241/6794/banking.asp?nid=6794&wid=241)

 

Selgin, George. 2007b. “Notes on free banking: fractional reserves and economic development, part I**”** February 14. *Free Market News Network;* [http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/241/6939/notes.asp?nid=6939&wid=241](http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/241/6939/notes.asp?nid=6939&wid=241)

 

Selgin, George. 2007c. **“**Notes on free banking: fractional reserves and economic development, part II” February 15. *Free Market News Network;* [http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/241/6949/notes.asp?nid=6949&wid=241](http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/241/6949/notes.asp?nid=6949&wid=241)

Selgin, George A., and White, Lawrence H., 1996, “In Defense of Fiduciary Media - or, We are Not Devo(lutionists), We are Misesians!,” Review of Austrian Economics, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 83-107; http://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/rae9_2_5.pdf

White, Lawrence H. 1992. Competition and Currency: Essays on Free Banking and Money. New York: New York University Press

White, Lawrence H. 1995. Free Banking in Britain: Theory, Experience, and Debate, 1800-1845, 2nd ed. London: Institute of Economic Affairs

White, Lawrence H. 1999. The Theory of Monetary Institutions. Oxford: Basil Blackwell

White, Lawrence H. 2003. “Accounting for Fractional-Reserve Banknotes and Deposits,” Independent Review 7/3, Winter, 423-41. http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?a=91

White, Lawrence H. 2007a. “Huerta de Soto’s Case Against Fractional Reserves,” Free-Market News Network (08 Jan) http://www.freemarketnews.com/Analysis/240/6709/case.asp?wid=240&nid=6709

White, Lawrence H. 2007b. “Huerta de Soto’s View of the History of Banking,” Free-Market News Network (30 Jan) http://www.freemarketnews.com/Analysis/240/6827/soto.asp?wid=240&nid=6827

White, Lawrence H. 2007c. “Huerta de Soto on Attempts to Justify Fractional-Reserve Banking,” Free-Market News Network (05 Feb) http://www.freemarketnews.com/Analysis/240/6877/soto.asp?wid=240&nid=6877

III. Ambivalent. These are of interest but there is some question as to on which side they lie:

Callahan, 2003; van den Hauwe, 2006, 2008; Williams, 1984.

Callahan, Gene. 2003. “The Libertarian Case Against Fractional-Reserve Banking,” Anti-State.com, July 22

van den Hauwe, Ludwig. 2006. “The Uneasy Case for Fractional-Reserve Free Banking, Procesos de Mercado, Vol. III, No. 2, pp143-96;

van den Hauwe, Ludwig. 2008, forthcoming. “Credit Expansion, the Prisoner´s Dilemma, and Free Banking as Mechanism Design, Procesos de Mercado,

Williams, Jeffrey C. 1984. “Fractional Reserve Banking in Grain,” Journal of Money Credit and Banking. 16 (4): pp. 488-496

Larry White and I disagree as to how to categorize these, so, at his suggestion, I’m creating a third or “ambivalent” section

2

Thanks. I am considering doing a dissertation on this next year, so this is helpful.

3

More on this, but in Spanish:

http://www.juandemariana.org/comentario/1523/viabilidad/reserva/fraccionaria/

4

To the pro-FRB side, this post by Roderick Long should be added: “Platonic Bailments”.

He argues that the distinction made by Rothbardians between loan contracts and bailment (warehouse) contracts is a false dichotomy, and hence it is possible to have a demandable loan contract. This solves the conflicting rights problem.

5

Jeffrey, here it is reformatted to look all nice and pretty, if you want to copy and paste this back into your original post:

From Walter Block (if someone wants to reformat and post, great)

Fractional Reserve Banking::

I. Anti Fractional reserve banking frb::

Barnett and Block, 2005, 2008; Block, 2008; Block and Caplan, 2008; Block and Garschina, 1996; Block and Humphries, 2008; Block and Posner, 2008; Davidson, 2008; Hoppe, et. al. 1998; Hoppe, 1994; Hulsmann, 2000, 2002a, 2002b, 2003; Rothbard, 1962; de Soto, 1995, 2001

Barnett, William II and Walter Block. 2005. “In defense of fiduciary media— a comment; or, what’s wrong with “clown” or play money?” Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics; Vol. 8, No. 2, Summer, pp. 55-69; http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae8_2_4.pdf

Barnett, William and Walter Block. 2008. “Time deposits, dimensions and fraud,” Journal of Business Ethics; www.WalterBlock.com/publications (this one is more radical, in that is characterizes even some time deposit practices, not merely demand deposit practices, as fraudulent)

Block, Walter and Bryan Caplan. 2008. “Walter Block versus Bryan Caplan on Fractional Reserve Banking.” Nov 1; http://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block110.html

Block, Walter and Garschina, Kenneth M. 1996. “Hayek, Business Cycles and Fractional Reserve Banking: Continuing the De-Homoginization Process,” Review of Austrian Economics, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1995, pp. 77-94; http://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/rae9_1_3.pdf.

Block, Walter. 2008. “Is Fractional Reserve Banking Fraudulent?, rejoinder to Eric Posner,” November 6; http://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block111.html

Block, Walter. 2008. “Posner vs. Block on fractional reserve banking.” November, 29;

http://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block114.html

Block, Walter and John Humphries. 2008. “Humphries vs Block on fractional reserve banking.” November 17; http://alsblog.wordpress.com/2008/11/17/fractional-reserve-banking/

Davidson, Laura. “Fractional Reserve Banking Is Indeed Fraudulent,” November 17;

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig9/davidson-l1.html

Hoppe, Hans-Hermann, with Guido Hulsmann and Walter Block. 1998. “Against Fiduciary Media,” Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 19-50, http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae1_1_2.pdf;

Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. 1994. “How is Fiat Money Possible? or, The Devolution of Money and Credit,” Review of Austrian Economics, 7(2), pp. 49-74.

Hulsmann, Jorg Guido. 2000. “Banks Cannot Create Money”, The Independent Review: A Journal of Political Economy, vol. 5, no. 1, summer, 101—110; http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_05_1_hulsman.pdf

Hulsmann, Jorg Guido. 2002a. “Free Banking and the Free Bankers.” Review of Austrian Economics. Vol. 9, No. 1. pp. 3-53; http://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/rae9_1_1.pdf

Hulsmann, Jorg Guido. 2002b. “Free Banking Fractional Reserves: Reply to Pascal Salin.” Review of Austrian Economics, Vol. 1, No. 3.

http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae1_3_8.pdf

Hulsmann, Jorg Guido. 2003. “Has Fractional-Reserve Banking Really Passed the Market Test?,” Independent Review 7/3, Winter, 399-422. http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?a=90

Rothbard, Murray N. 1962. “The Case for a 100 Percent Gold Dollar,” In Search of a Monetary Constitution, Leland B. Yeager, ed., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 94-136, and Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1991. See also “The Logic of Action One” pp. 364-384; http://mises.org/daily/1829

Rothbard, Murray N. What Has Government Done to Our Money?, Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1990; http://mises.org/rothbard/rothmoney.pdf

de Soto, Jesús Huerta. 1995. “A Critical Analysis of Central Banks and Fractional-Reserve Free Banking from the Austrian Perspective,” Review of Austrian Economics, 8(2), pp. 25-38.

de Soto, Jesus Huerta. 2001. “A Critical Note on Fractional Reserve Free Banking,” The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, Vol. 1, No. 4, Fall, pp. 34-35

II. pro frb:

Sechrest, 1987, 1989a, 1989b, 1991a, 1991b, 1993, 2007; Selgin, 1994, 1998, 2007a, 2007b, 2007c; Selgin and White, 1996; White, 1992, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007a, 2007b, 2007c

Sechrest, Larry. 1987. “White’s Free Banking Thesis: A Case of Mistaken Identity,” Review of Austrian Economics, November, Vol. II, 247-57.

Sechrest, Larry. 1989a. Review of George Selgin’s The Theory of Free Banking, Journal of Economics, Vol. XV, 196-98.

Sechrest, Larry. 1989b. “Free Banking vs. Central Banking: A Geometrical Analysis,” South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, November, Vol. II, 83-97.

Sechrest, Larry. 1991a. “Free Banking in Scotland: A Dissenting View,” Cato Journal, Winter, Vol. 10, No. 3, 799-808.

Sechrest, Larry. 1991b. “Banking, Central and Free”, pages 145-51, Magill’s Survey of Social Science: Economics, Salem Press.

Sechrest, Larry. 1993. Free Banking: Theory, History, and a Laissez-Faire Model, Westport, Connecticut: Quorum Books, 1993.

Sechrest, Larry. 2007. “Free Banking Basics,” The Free Radical, July/August, Vol. 76, 40-41.

Selgin, George. 1994. “Free Banking and Monetary Control.” Economic Journal 104: 1449-59.

Selgin, George. 1998. The Theory of Free Banking: Money Supply under Competitive Note Issue. Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman & Littlefield

Selgin, George. 2000. “Should We Let Banks Create Money?” The Independent Review, v.V, n.1, Summer, pp. 93–100

Selgin, George. 2007a. “Is fractional-reserve banking inflationary?” January 23. Free Market News Network;

http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/241/6794/banking.asp?nid=6794&wid=241

Selgin, George. 2007b. “Notes on free banking: fractional reserves and economic development, part I” February 14. Free Market News Network; http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/241/6939/notes.asp?nid=6939&wid=241

Selgin, George. 2007c. “Notes on free banking: fractional reserves and economic development, part II” February 15. Free Market News Network; http://www.fmnn.com/Analysis/241/6949/notes.asp?nid=6949&wid=241

Selgin, George A., and White, Lawrence H., 1996, “In Defense of Fiduciary Media - or, We are Not Devo(lutionists), We are Misesians!,” Review of Austrian Economics, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 83-107; http://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/rae9_2_5.pdf

White, Lawrence H. 1992. Competition and Currency: Essays on Free Banking and Money. New York: New York University Press

White, Lawrence H. 1995. Free Banking in Britain: Theory, Experience, and Debate, 1800-1845, 2nd ed. London: Institute of Economic Affairs

White, Lawrence H. 1999. The Theory of Monetary Institutions. Oxford: Basil Blackwell

White, Lawrence H. 2003. “Accounting for Fractional-Reserve Banknotes and Deposits,” Independent Review 7/3, Winter, 423-41. http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?a=91

White, Lawrence H. 2007a. “Huerta de Soto’s Case Against Fractional Reserves,” Free-Market News Network (08 Jan) http://www.freemarketnews.com/Analysis/240/6709/case.asp?wid=240&nid=6709

White, Lawrence H. 2007b. “Huerta de Soto’s View of the History of Banking,” Free-Market News Network (30 Jan) http://www.freemarketnews.com/Analysis/240/6827/soto.asp?wid=240&nid=6827

White, Lawrence H. 2007c. “Huerta de Soto on Attempts to Justify Fractional-Reserve Banking,” Free-Market News Network (05 Feb) http://www.freemarketnews.com/Analysis/240/6877/soto.asp?wid=240&nid=6877

III. Ambivalent. These are of interest but there is some question as to on which side they lie:

Callahan, 2003; van den Hauwe, 2006, 2008; Williams, 1984.

Callahan, Gene. 2003. “The Libertarian Case Against Fractional-Reserve Banking,” Anti-State.com, July 22

van den Hauwe, Ludwig. 2006. “The Uneasy Case for Fractional-Reserve Free Banking, Procesos de Mercado, Vol. III, No. 2, pp143-96;

van den Hauwe, Ludwig. 2008, forthcoming. “Credit Expansion, the Prisoner´s Dilemma, and Free Banking as Mechanism Design, Procesos de Mercado,

Williams, Jeffrey C. 1984. “Fractional Reserve Banking in Grain,” Journal of Money Credit and Banking. 16 (4): pp. 488-496

Larry White and I disagree as to how to categorize these, so, at his suggestion, I’m creating a third or “ambivalent” section

6

Very nice work. Thank you, Mr. Block.

7

What about de Soto’s most important work on fractional reserve banking, Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles?

8

Pascal Salin also has a couple of articles to add to the pro-frb side:

In Defense of Fractional Monetary Reserves

Free Banking and Fractional Reserves: A Comment

9

Excellent list!

Two more things may be updated:

de Soto, Jesús Huerta. 1995. “A Critical Analysis of Central Banks and Fractional-Reserve Free Banking from the Austrian Perspective,” Review of Austrian Economics, 8(2), pp. 25-38.

de Soto, Jesus Huerta. 2001. “A Critical Note on Fractional Reserve Free Banking,” The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, Vol. 1, No. 4, Fall, pp. 34-35

(By the way, does any of these works contain a solid, compact, history of the Federal Reserve?)

10

Has anyone analyzed whether fractional reserve banking is fraud from the point of view of mainstream contract law?

11

Rothbard in the Case Against the Fed (among other places) analyses the legal precedents that have legalized FRB. While it is declared to be legal, he points out that if you’d try the same process with grain warehoused in a grain elevator, it would be fraud. :slight_smile: