HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

Does Fractional Reserve Banking Endanger the Economy? A Debate

Views:760
@ReasonVids

Two free market economists debate a topic that has long divided libertarians: The standard banking practice of keeping only a portion of depositors' money on hand and loaning out the rest.


Subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/reasontv

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magazine/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason
Subscribe to our podcast at iTunes: https://goo.gl/az3a7a

Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines.


On April 16, 2018, two free market economists debated a topic that has long divided libertarians. Fractional reserve banking refers to banks' standard practice of keeping only a portion of their depositors' money on hand and loaning out the rest.

In The Mystery of Banking (1983), the anarcho-capitalist economist Murray Rothbard called fractional reserve banking "a shell game, a Ponzi scheme, a fraud in which fake warehouse receipts are issued and circulate as equivalent to the cash supposedly represented by the receipts." Other libertarian economists, such as Larry White and Steve Horwitz, have argued that the practice is perfectly defensible.

At The Soho Forum, a debate series in New York City that is sponsored by the Reason Foundation, Robert Murphy debated George Selgin over the following resolution: "Fractional Reserve banking poses a threat to the stability of market economies."

Murphy, a research assistant professor with the Free Market Institute at Texas Tech University, argued for the affirmative. He has a Ph.D. in economics from NYU has addiliations with the Institute for Energy Research, the Mises Institute, the Fraser Institute, and the Independent Institute. He has authored hundreds of articles and several books explaining economics to the layperson, including Choice: Cooperation, Enterprise, and Human Action.

Selgin, who opposed the resolution, is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute and professor emeritus of economics at the University of Georgia. His 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 the author of The Theory of Free Banking, Bank Deregulation and Monetary Order, Less Than Zero: The Case for a Falling Price Level in a Growing Economy, and most recently Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage.

The Soho Forum runs Oxford-style debates, in which the audience votes on the resolution at the beginning and end of the event. The side that gains more ground is victorious. ​In this case, Selgin won by convincing 14 percent of the audience to switch over to his side.

Produced by Todd Krainin.

libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
    Thumbnail for California Says Coffee Needs Cancer Warning Labels6:35
    California Says Coffee Needs Cancer Warning Labels
    ReasonVids
    961 views
    Thumbnail for Squid Game Dalgona #shorts | Mr DegrEE0:21
    Squid Game Dalgona #shorts | Mr DegrEE
    invidious
    77 views
    Thumbnail for Vageta Reaches Super Saiyan First!! (Budokai Alternate Ending) | Steven Morrison0:45
    Vageta Reaches Super Saiyan First!! (Budokai Alternate Ending) | Steven Morrison
    invidious
    472 views
    Thumbnail for Christmas is approaching! Make sure your stocking stuffers are based this year.0:26
    Christmas is approaching! Make sure your stocking stuffers are based this year.
    bestofvoatxyz
    844 views
    Thumbnail for Doom II - MAP10: Refueling Base (Nightmare! 100% Secrets + Items) | decino7:15
    Doom II - MAP10: Refueling Base (Nightmare! 100% Secrets + Items) | decino
    invidious
    458 views
    Thumbnail for The 3 types of damaged hair 😱 | Dillon Latham0:43
    The 3 types of damaged hair 😱 | Dillon Latham
    invidious
    138 views
    Thumbnail for The Pen Test DOESN'T Prove You're Drunk! #lawyer #police | Hampton Law0:57
    The Pen Test DOESN'T Prove You're Drunk! #lawyer #police | Hampton Law
    invidious
    140 views
    Thumbnail for Why have #Ravioli for tea when you can have Raviolioliolioliolo instead!? 😋 #pasta #italianfood | Elburritomonster0:41
    Why have #Ravioli for tea when you can have Raviolioliolioliolo instead!? 😋 #pasta #italianfood | Elburritomonster
    invidious
    106 views
    Thumbnail for Run0:24
    Run
    bestofvoatxyz
    516 views
    Thumbnail for The Churchill Thrillers: An Interview with Michael and Patrick McMenamin3:06
    The Churchill Thrillers: An Interview with Michael and Patrick McMenamin
    ReasonVids
    875 views
    Thumbnail for Live: Alleged CEO Shooter, Luigi Mangione expected to appear in Manhattan court for arraignment | DMRegister50:16
    Live: Alleged CEO Shooter, Luigi Mangione expected to appear in Manhattan court for arraignment | DMRegister
    invidious
    125 views
    Thumbnail for John Hasnas: Have Markets Failed?23:32
    John Hasnas: Have Markets Failed?
    ReasonVids
    907 views
    Thumbnail for 🔴LIVE - Knit an orange wool tote bag, I finished it in 2 hours Part 5 | قناة المرأة المقتصدة3:21
    🔴LIVE - Knit an orange wool tote bag, I finished it in 2 hours Part 5 | قناة المرأة المقتصدة
    invidious
    129 views
    Thumbnail for São Paulo x Botafogo - AO VIVO - 24/07/2024 - Brasileirão | Jovem Pan Esportes1:00
    São Paulo x Botafogo - AO VIVO - 24/07/2024 - Brasileirão | Jovem Pan Esportes
    invidious
    250 views
    Thumbnail for Why John Boehner Was a Better Speaker than Paul Ryan: Justin Amash6:03
    Why John Boehner Was a Better Speaker than Paul Ryan: Justin Amash
    ReasonVids
    902 views
    Thumbnail for Duke Nukem Forever: Walkthrough - Part 2 [Chapter 15] - Highway Battle (Gameplay) [Xbox 360, PS3] | theRadBrad7:44
    Duke Nukem Forever: Walkthrough - Part 2 [Chapter 15] - Highway Battle (Gameplay) [Xbox 360, PS3] | theRadBrad
    invidious
    403 views
    Thumbnail for An Abbreviated History of The Semitic People44:38
    An Abbreviated History of The Semitic People
    bestofsaidit
    700 views
    Thumbnail for What happens if you hang from your web in all Spiderman games? #videogames #spiderman #spiderman2 | Retrogamingg0:51
    What happens if you hang from your web in all Spiderman games? #videogames #spiderman #spiderman2 | Retrogamingg
    invidious
    208 views
    Thumbnail for Breaking tempered glass shower wall door. | will massey0:39
    Breaking tempered glass shower wall door. | will massey
    invidious
    443 views
    Thumbnail for Why the GOP Should Embrace Science: The Conservative Future Project's Joshua Jacobs6:05
    Why the GOP Should Embrace Science: The Conservative Future Project's Joshua Jacobs
    ReasonVids
    950 views
    Thumbnail for JD Vance ‘wiped the floor with Tim Walz’ | Sky News Australia0:56
    JD Vance ‘wiped the floor with Tim Walz’ | Sky News Australia
    invidious
    157 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle