Monthly Archives: May 2017

Money and Banking—Part 18 (B): Overview of the Financial System: A World of Promises

Due to the size of this post, it  has been split into 2. You can find part A here.

Monetary instruments

Monetary instruments are the last type of marketable promissory notes. Post 15 and Post 16 are devoted to their analysis. One of the main characteristics of monetary instruments is that their term to maturity is instantaneous, that is, they can be returned to the issuer at the will of the bearer. In terms of cash, that is physical monetary instruments, the Financial Accounts of the United States make a difference between currency, Treasury currency, and coins. Coins are not included in the Accounts, currency refers to cash issued by the Federal Reserve (Federal Reserve notes), and Treasury currency refers to cash issued by the US Treasury (the Treasury no longer issues any currency but some of it still circulates). Unless stated otherwise, the term “currency” will be used to include paper-made monetary instruments issued by both the Federal Reserve and the Treasury. In 2015, the outstanding dollar amount of currency was $1.5 trillion and Figure 18.20 shows that 95 percent of it was held by the domestic non-federal sectors and the rest of the world. In 2015, about 40 percent of the US-dollar-denominated currency outstanding was held by the rest of the world, and about 55 percent was held by the domestic private sector. The ownership structure of Treasury currency outside the Federal Reserve is not provided by the Financial Accounts, but most of it must be held by the domestic private sector. The Federal Reserve is a significant holder of Treasury currency although the significance of its holding has shrink over time. In 1945, Federal Reserve’s holding of Treasury currency represented about 10 percent of outstanding currency, but, by 2015, it represented less than 5 percent of outstanding currency.

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Money and Banking—Part 18 (A): Overview of the Financial System: A World of Promises

Due to the size of this post, it was split in two. You can find Part B here.

The M&B series is back! The goal is to finish the first complete draft of the book by the time I need to teach my Money and Banking course. Over the coming months, the following topics will be covered.

  1. Overview of the financial system
  2. Federal Reserve System institutional analysis
  3. Interest rate and interest rate structure
  4. Pricing of securities
  5. Off balance sheet: Securitization
  6. Off balance sheet: Derivatives
  7. Monetary policy in action (issues surrounding interest-rate rules, transmission channels, etc.)
  8. International monetary arrangements and exchange rates
  9. Modeling (theory of the circuit, including the money supply in models, stock-flow coherency, portfolio constraints, capital gains, using models, etc.)

With these new sections and the seventeen other chapters of the book (which I have already rewritten in part to take into account feedbacks from my students), one should have a solid alternative preliminary text (let me know if I should cover more topics). The incomplete draft was well received by my students and has been downloaded over 8000 times as of May 2017.

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FBI Investigations Are Conducted at the Discretion of its Director

NEP’s Bill Black talks to The Real News Network and explains the history and dynamics of FBI investigations, which show that they are not as unstoppable or unimpeachable as they are being made out to be. You can view with transcript here.

Announcing the First International Conference on Modern Monetary Theory 

Economics for a New Progressive Era

University of Missouri-Kansas City

September 21–24, 2017

Conference site: mmtconference.org

With Support From

Robert Skidelsky and Morton Sosland

UMKC Economics Club

Journal of Post Keynesian Economics

Featured Speakers Include

Warren Mosler, Robert Skidelsky, Jamie Galbraith, Jan Kregel, and Randall Wray

Modern Monetary Theory has transformed the economics discipline. Its influence extends beyond economics, reaching deep into the fields of law, history, finance, banking, public policy, and philosophy. Join the world’s leading MMT practitioners, and explore the cutting edge of modern economic thinking.

Call for Papers. Submissions are welcome on any aspect of Modern Monetary Theory, such as: fiscal policy, economic development, employment policy, framing and marketing of MMT, taxation, inflation and reforming the financial system. Please send your individual abstract (200 words max) or panel submission with a short description before June 15 to [email protected].
We look forward to seeing you there!

Lawyer with Responsibility for Mortgage Crisis Appointed to Take Care of Mortgage Banks

NEP’s Bill Black appears on The Real News Network discussing Trump’s appointment of Craig S. Phillips, who contributed to the 2008 financial crisis at Morgan Stanley, to take care of FannieMae and FreddieMac. You can view with a transcript here.

The Living New Deal

Announcing the New Map of New Deal New York
Two years in the making, The Living New Deal’s newest publication, a “Map and Guide to New Deal New York,” highlights nearly 1,000 public works throughout the five boroughs and describes 50 of the city’s notable New Deal buildings, parks, murals, and other sites and artworks. The 18 x 27 inch, multi-color map folds to pocket size, while three inset maps offer walking tours of the New Deal in Central Park, and Midtown and Downtown Manhattan. Beginning this week, The Living New Deal will host events in Manhattan to celebrate the map—and New Deal New York at large. You can purchase the map, and a poster of it, here.

Culture and Space: A Case Study of the New Deal at UNC
More than any other era in US history, the New Deal supported the development of new work in the arts. Two scholars at the University of North Carolina have compiled, “The Forest Theatre, Expressive Landscape, and the New Deal at UNC Chapel Hill,” a bibliographic essay exploring the relationship between New Deal structures and cultural projects at that campus, with special focus on the relationship between space and performance undertaken at the Forest Theatre. The essay suggests potential avenues for further research into the New Deal, emphasizing the politics of place and the arts, during the New Deal era. Read the entire essay.

Provided by: The Living New Deal