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Credit Markets and Narrow Banking

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  • Ronnie Phillips

Abstract

Maurice Allais's view that the credit created by fractional reserve banking is equivalent to counterfeiting has led him to recommend the separation of the depository and lending functions of banks. This proposal has recently been reintroduced by James Tobin and others under the term "narrow banking." Proponents cite the potential for enhanced safety of the payments mechanism and the elimination of costs associated with the preses system of Federal deposit insurance. This plan resembles the "100% reserves" and "100% money" proposals submitted by Irving Fisher, Henry Simons, and others in the 1930s. The essence of banking today is that banks borrow short and lend long, while Allais's proposal would require the reverse: borrow long and lend short. Among Allais's objections to the fractional reserve system are the creation and destruction of money by private banks, the impossibility of control over the credit system, and the lack of efficient control of the aggregate money supply. The fundamental principles guiding reform are that (i) the creation of money should be the business of only the state, and (ii) no money should be created outside the monetary base, so that no one would be entitled to the benefits that attach to the creation of bank money. A corollary to this proposal is that the availability of credit is limited to just what the private sector is willing to lend on an equity basis. Phillips addresses the common shortcomings of previous reform proposals (e.g. Peel's Act of 1844 and 100% reserve plans of the 1930s), which failed to recognize the existence of substitutes to banknotes and demand deposits. The lingering question is how to "construct financial institutions which do not impede the development of the economy, yet are flexible enough to allow for technological innovation and market discipline." Narrow banking is a response (though not a panacea) to this dilemma, which clarifies the fundamental principles involved and "allows a way out of the Federal deposit insurance mess."

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  • Ronnie Phillips, 1992. "Credit Markets and Narrow Banking," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_77, Levy Economics Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_77
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. James Tobin, 1987. "The case for preserving regulatory distinctions," Proceedings - Economic Policy Symposium - Jackson Hole, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, pages 167-205.
    2. Maurice Allais, 1987. "The Credit Mechanism and its Implications," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: George R. Feiwel (ed.), Arrow and the Foundations of the Theory of Economic Policy, chapter 18, pages 491-561, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Kareken, John H, 1986. "Federal Bank Regulatory Policy: A Description and Some Observations," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(1), pages 3-48, January.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Greg Hannsgen, 2005. "Minsky's acceleration channel and the role of money," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(3), pages 471-489.
    3. Mirakhor, Abbas & Krichene, Noureddine, 2009. "The Recent Crisis: Lessons for Islamic Finance," MPRA Paper 56022, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Musgrave, Ralph S., 2018. "A new justification for full reserve banking?," MPRA Paper 90041, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    6. Musgrave, Ralph S., 2017. "Privately issued money reduces GDP," MPRA Paper 78896, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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