Lawrence H. White
Encyclopedia
Lawrence H. White is an Economics Professor at George Mason University
who teaches graduate level Monetary Theory and Policy. He is considered an authority on the history and theory of free banking
. His writings support the abolition of the Federal Reserve System
and the promotion of private, competitive banking.
at Harvard University
(1977) and PhD
at the University of California at Los Angeles (1982). Before his current role at George Mason University
he held a position as F.A. Hayek Professor of Economic History
with the University of Missouri–St. Louis
Economics department from 2000 to 2009, teaching American Economic History, Monetary Theory, and Money and Banking. Previously, he was Assistant Professor at New York University
and Associate Professor at The University of Georgia
in Athens, Georgia
.
Articles by Lawrence White on monetary theory and banking history have appeared in the American Economic Review
, the Journal of Economic Literature
, the Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking as well as other professional journals. White is an associate editor of the "Review of Austrian Economics", a contributing editor to the Foundation for Economic Education
's magazine The Freeman
and an adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute
.
and considers himself an “economist who values the Austrian tradition.” He has analyzed the theory and history of free banking
, a system under which commercial banks and market forces control the provision of banking services. He supports “depoliticizing the supply of money,” considers “free market monetary arrangements” feasible and finds that market monetary institutions “can more credibly be found by contract to perform as desired.”
White's Free Banking in Britain analyzes the efficient systems of free banking in Scotland for a 128 years until it was suppressed by the British Parliament which was having problems with its own banking system. The book brought respectability in academic economics to the idea of free banking. However, some supporters of free banking who prefer commodity backed currency
to private fractional reserve currency
disagree with his portrayal of the Scottish banking system as truly free. White has countered their arguments. However, White does not dismiss the possibility that in a free market people might prefer a commodity standard, such as the gold standard
.
White's 1999 book The Theory of Monetary Institutions is a theoretical and historical account of both existing and alternative monetary regimes used as an advanced undergraduate and graduate-level economics text. Professor Steve Hanke
writes that "White provides a uniquely insightful perspective into a difficult and controversial area, and his arguments and analysis are unbeatable."
White, who has been a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
, frequently has criticized the Federal Reserve System
. He has written that the economics profession is greatly influenced by the Federal Reserve because of the millions of dollars in research grants it supplies to academics. White has been quoted as saying that nationalized banks “divert money to the most vote-productive uses rather than the most economically productive uses.” White's view on the usefulness of transferring digital money via cellphone and on his criticism of Limited Purpose Banking have been mentioned in mainstream publications.
White received an Honorary Doctoral Degree at Universidad Francisco Marroquín
in 2011 due his research on monetary policy and monetary history.
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
who teaches graduate level Monetary Theory and Policy. He is considered an authority on the history and theory of free banking
Free banking
Free banking refers to a monetary arrangement in which banks are subject to no special regulations beyond those applicable to most enterprises, and in which they also are free to issue their own paper currency...
. His writings support the abolition of the Federal Reserve System
Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913 with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, largely in response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907...
and the promotion of private, competitive banking.
Career
White earned his ABBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(1977) and PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
at the University of California at Los Angeles (1982). Before his current role at George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
he held a position as F.A. Hayek Professor of Economic History
Economic history
Economic history is the study of economies or economic phenomena in the past. Analysis in economic history is undertaken using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and by applying economic theory to historical situations and institutions...
with the University of Missouri–St. Louis
University of Missouri–St. Louis
The University of Missouri–St. Louis is one of four universities in the University of Missouri System. Established in 1963, it is the newest university in the UM System. , it is the largest university by enrollment in the St. Louis area with 16,548 students...
Economics department from 2000 to 2009, teaching American Economic History, Monetary Theory, and Money and Banking. Previously, he was Assistant Professor at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and Associate Professor at The University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
in Athens, Georgia
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
.
Articles by Lawrence White on monetary theory and banking history have appeared in the American Economic Review
American Economic Review
The American Economic Review is a peer-reviewed academic journal of economics publishing seven issues annually by the American Economic Association. First published in 1911, it is considered one of the most prestigious journals in the field. The current editor-in-chief is Penny Goldberg . The...
, the Journal of Economic Literature
Journal of Economic Literature
The Journal of Economic Literature is a peer-reviewed academic journal on economy published by the American Economic Association. It was established in 1963 as the Journal of Economic Abstracts. As a review journal, it mainly features essays and reviews of recent economic theories...
, the Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking as well as other professional journals. White is an associate editor of the "Review of Austrian Economics", a contributing editor to the Foundation for Economic Education
Foundation for Economic Education
The Foundation for Economic Education is one of the oldest free-market organizations established in the United States to study and advance the freedom philosophy. Murray Rothbard recognizes FEE for creating a "crucial open center" that he credits with launching the movement...
's magazine The Freeman
The Freeman
The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty is one of the oldest and most respected libertarian journals in the United States. It is published by the Foundation for Economic Education . It started as a digest sized monthly study journal; it currently appears 10 times per year and is a larger-sized magazine. FEE...
and an adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
.
Economic views
White has been influenced by and writes about the Austrian School of EconomicsAustrian School
The Austrian School of economics is a heterodox school of economic thought. It advocates methodological individualism in interpreting economic developments , the theory that money is non-neutral, the theory that the capital structure of economies consists of heterogeneous goods that have...
and considers himself an “economist who values the Austrian tradition.” He has analyzed the theory and history of free banking
Free banking
Free banking refers to a monetary arrangement in which banks are subject to no special regulations beyond those applicable to most enterprises, and in which they also are free to issue their own paper currency...
, a system under which commercial banks and market forces control the provision of banking services. He supports “depoliticizing the supply of money,” considers “free market monetary arrangements” feasible and finds that market monetary institutions “can more credibly be found by contract to perform as desired.”
White's Free Banking in Britain analyzes the efficient systems of free banking in Scotland for a 128 years until it was suppressed by the British Parliament which was having problems with its own banking system. The book brought respectability in academic economics to the idea of free banking. However, some supporters of free banking who prefer commodity backed currency
Hard money (policy)
Hard money policies are those which are opposed to fiat currency and thus in support of a specie standard, usually gold or silver, typically implemented with representative money....
to private fractional reserve currency
Fractional-reserve banking
Fractional-reserve banking is a form of banking where banks maintain reserves that are only a fraction of the customer's deposits. Funds deposited into a bank are mostly lent out, and a bank keeps only a fraction of the quantity of deposits as reserves...
disagree with his portrayal of the Scottish banking system as truly free. White has countered their arguments. However, White does not dismiss the possibility that in a free market people might prefer a commodity standard, such as the gold standard
Gold standard
The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed mass of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...
.
White's 1999 book The Theory of Monetary Institutions is a theoretical and historical account of both existing and alternative monetary regimes used as an advanced undergraduate and graduate-level economics text. Professor Steve Hanke
Steve Hanke
Steve H. Hanke is an American economist specializing in international economics, particularly monetary policy.He holds a doctoral degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Earlier in his teaching career, he taught economics at the Colorado School of Mines and the University of California,...
writes that "White provides a uniquely insightful perspective into a difficult and controversial area, and his arguments and analysis are unbeatable."
White, who has been a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is responsible for the sixth district, which covers the states of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, 74 counties in the eastern two-thirds of...
, frequently has criticized the Federal Reserve System
Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913 with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, largely in response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907...
. He has written that the economics profession is greatly influenced by the Federal Reserve because of the millions of dollars in research grants it supplies to academics. White has been quoted as saying that nationalized banks “divert money to the most vote-productive uses rather than the most economically productive uses.” White's view on the usefulness of transferring digital money via cellphone and on his criticism of Limited Purpose Banking have been mentioned in mainstream publications.
White received an Honorary Doctoral Degree at Universidad Francisco Marroquín
Universidad Francisco Marroquín
Universidad Francisco Marroquín is a private, secular, university in Guatemala City, Guatemala. According to the school's website, "the mission of Universidad Francisco Marroquín is to teach and disseminate the ethical, legal and economic principles of a sociey of free and responsible persons."...
in 2011 due his research on monetary policy and monetary history.
Books
- Free Banking in Britain: Theory, Experience and Debate 1800-1845, 2nd ed., London: Institute of Economic AffairsInstitute of Economic AffairsThe Institute of Economic Affairs , founded in 1955, styles itself the UK's pre-eminent free-market think-tank. Its mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social...
, 2009, ISBN 0-255-36375-3 - The Theory of Monetary Institutions, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1999 ISBN 0-631-21214-0
- Competition and Currency: Essays on Free Banking and Money, New York: New York University Press, 1992, ISBN 0-8147-9247-2
- Editor, The pure theory of capital, Volume 12 of The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek, University of Chicago Press, 2007, ISBN 0226320995, 9780226320991
- Editor, The History of Gold and Silver, 3 vols., London: Pickering and Chatto, 2000.
- Editor, The Crisis in American Banking, New York: New York University Press, 1993
- Editor, Free Banking, 3 vols., Aldershot, UK: Edward Elgar, 1993
- Editor, African Finance: Research and Reform, San Francisco: ICS Press, 1993
- Editor, William Leggett, Democratick Editorials: Essays in Jacksonian Political Economy, Indianapolis: Liberty Press, 1984
External links
- Lawrence H. White Curriculum Vitae with full list of publications
- http://www.mercatus.org/PeopleDetails.aspx?id=17178Faculty Network Page at the Mercatus CenterMercatus CenterThe Mercatus Center at George Mason University in the United States is a non-profit market-oriented research, education, and outreach think tank affiliated with the Koch family. It works with policy experts, lobbyists, and government officials to connect academic learning and real-world practice...
at George Mason UniversityGeorge Mason UniversityGeorge Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
- Arlington, VA] - Faculty page at the University of Missouri - St. Louis
- List of published writings at Cato InstituteCato InstituteThe Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
web site - http://newmedia.ufm.edu/gsm/index.php/Listados:Lawrence_H._WhiteAudiovisual Media, NewMedia Universidad Francisco MarroquínUniversidad Francisco MarroquínUniversidad Francisco Marroquín is a private, secular, university in Guatemala City, Guatemala. According to the school's website, "the mission of Universidad Francisco Marroquín is to teach and disseminate the ethical, legal and economic principles of a sociey of free and responsible persons."...
]]