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The Bullionist Controversy: Theory and New Evidence

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  • Hendrickson, Joshua

Abstract

The Bullionist Controversy in the United Kingdom is one of the first debates about the determination of the price level and the exchange rate under a paper money standard. Despite the importance of the debate in the development of monetary theory, there remains little empirical evidence that uses modern, multivariate time series techniques. The evidence that does exist provides support for the Anti-Bullionist position. The purpose of this paper is to review the debate and develop a dynamic general equilibrium model that is capable of capturing key features of the 19th-century British financial system. The model is estimated using Bayesian procedures to test the competing hypotheses. The paper provides support for the Bullionist position.

Suggested Citation

  • Hendrickson, Joshua, 2015. "The Bullionist Controversy: Theory and New Evidence," MPRA Paper 83741, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Feb 2017.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:83741
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nils Herger, 2017. "An empirical assessment of the Swedish Bullionist Controversy," Working Papers 17.01, Swiss National Bank, Study Center Gerzensee.
    2. Nils Herger, 2020. "An Empirical Assessment of the Swedish Bullionist Controversy," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 122(3), pages 911-936, July.
    3. Hendrickson, Joshua R., 2020. "The Riksbank, emergency finance, policy experimentation, and Sweden’s reversal of fortune," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 312-332.
    4. Carolyn Sissoko, 2022. "Becoming a central bank: The development of the Bank of England's private sector lending policies during the Restriction," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(2), pages 601-632, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bullionist Controversy; Quantity Theory of Money; Bayesian estimation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B22 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Macroeconomics
    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • N13 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: Pre-1913

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