The Dog That Didn't Bark: The Curious Case of Lloyd Mints, Milton Friedman, and the Emergence of Monetarism

Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP13858

Authors: Harris Dellas; George Tavlas

Abstract: Lloyd Mints has long been considered a peripheral figure in the development of monetary economics at the University of Chicago. We provide evidence showing that the standard assessment of Mints’s standing in Chicago monetary economics -- and in American monetary economics more broadly -- is mistaken. In light of the originality and the breadth of his monetary contributions, and given the degree to which those contributions shaped part of Milton Friedman’s monetary framework and were pushed forward by Friedman, we argue that, far from being a peripheral figure in the development of Chicago monetary economics, Mints played a catalytic role.

Keywords: Lloyd Mints; Milton Friedman; Monetarism; Chicago Monetary Tradition

JEL Codes: B22; E52


Causal Claims Network Graph

Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.


Causal Claims

CauseEffect
macroeconomic conditions (E66)exchange rate stability (F31)
monetary policy actions (E52)unemployment outcomes (J65)
discretionary monetary policies (E60)macroeconomic instability (E60)
monetary policy failures (E50)severity of the Great Depression (N13)
Mints's original ideas (B13)development of monetarism (E49)

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