Global InformationModern monetary theory information
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Modern monetary theory or modern money theory (MMT) is a heterodox[1] macroeconomic theory that describes currency as a public monopoly and unemployment as evidence that a currency monopolist is overly restricting the supply of the financial assets needed to pay taxes and satisfy savings desires.[2][3] According to MMT, governments do not need to worry about accumulating debt in and of itself since they create new money by using fiscal policy in order to pay interest. MMT argues that the primary risk once the economy reaches full employment is inflation, which acts as the only constraint on spending. MMT also argues that inflation can be addressed by increasing taxes, likely on a broad-base of the population, to reduce the spending capacity of the private sector.[4][5]
MMT is controversial within mainstream economics, and is actively debated with dialogues about its theoretical integrity,[5] the implications of the policy recommendations of its proponents, and the extent to which it is actually divergent from orthodox macroeconomics.[6] MMT is opposed to the mainstream understanding of macroeconomic theory and has been criticized heavily by many mainstream economists.[7][8][9][10] MMT is also strongly opposed by members of the Austrian school of economics, with Murray Rothbard stating that MMT practices are equivalent to "counterfeiting" and that government control of the money supply will inevitably lead to hyperinflation.[11]
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- Chohan, Usman W. (6 April 2020). "Modern Monetary Theory (MMT): A General Introduction". CASS Working Papers on Economics & National Affairs. Social Science Research Network. SSRN 3569416. EC017UC (2020). Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- Edwards, Sebastian (2019). "Modern monetary theory: Cautionary tales from Latin America". Cato Journal. 39 (3): 529. doi:10.36009/CJ.39.3.3. S2CID 195792372. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- Kosaka, Norihiko (6 August 2019). "The Heterodox Modern Monetary Theory and Its Challenges for Japan". Nippon. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- Krugman, Paul (12 February 2019). "How Much Does Heterodoxy Help Progressives? (Wonkish)" (Opinion). The New York Times. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- Raposo, Ines Goncalves (11 June 2019). "On Modern Monetary Theory". Bruegel. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- "Heterodox Views of Money and Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)" (PDF).
- ^ Warren Mosler, ME/MMT: The Currency as a Public Monopoly Archived 28 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine, IT: Uni BG.
- ^ Tymoigne, Éric; Wray, L. Randall (November 2013). "Modern Money Theory 101: A Reply to Critics". Levy Economics Institute of Bard College. Working Paper No. 778.
- ^ Wray, L. Randall (2015). Modern Money Theory: A Primer on Macroeconomics for Sovereign Monetary Systems. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 137–41, 199–206. ISBN 978-1-137-53990-8.
- ^ a b Coy, Peter; Dmitrieva, Katia; Boesler, Matthew (21 March 2019). "Warren Buffett Hates It. AOC Is for It. A Beginner's Guide to Modern Monetary Theory". Bloomberg Businessweek.
- ^ Modern Monetary Theory (MMT): A General Introduction. Comparative Political Economy: Monetary Policy eJournal. Social Science Research Network (SSRN). Accessed 20 March 2021.
- ^ Krugmann, Paul (25 February 2019). "Running on MMT (wonkish)". The New York Times.
- ^ Mankiw, N. Gregory (2020). "A Skeptic's Guide to Modern Monetary Theory". AEA Papers and Proceedings. 110: 141–44. doi:10.1257/pandp.20201102. ISSN 2574-0768. S2CID 219804544.
- ^ Cohen, Patricia (5 April 2019). "Modern Monetary Theory Finds an Embrace in an Unexpected Place: Wall Street". The New York Times.
To many mainstream economists, though, M.M.T. is a confused mishmash that proponents use to support their political objectives, whether big government programs like "Medicare for all" and the Green New Deal or smaller taxes. ... From this perspective, M.M.T. is a version of free-lunchonomics, leaving the next generation to pay for this generation's profligacy. Although several prominent mainstream economists have recently revised their thinking about the risks of large government debt, they continue to reject other tenets of M.M.T. At some point, they insist, if the government just creates money to pay the bills, hyperinflation will kick in.
- ^ Smialek, Jeanna (6 February 2019). "Is This What Winning Looks Like?". The New York Times.
The theory picked up some fervent followers but limited popular acceptance, charitably, and outright derision, uncharitably. Mainstream economists panned it as overly simplistic. Many were confused about what it was arguing. "I have heard pretty extreme claims attributed to that framework and I don't know whether that's fair or not," Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said in 2019. "The idea that deficits don't matter for countries that can borrow in their own currency is just wrong."
- ^ Carney, John (27 December 2011). "Modern Monetary Theory and Austrian Economics". www.cnbc.com. Retrieved 17 April 2024.