ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS
[PART I. THE VALUE OF MONEY AND THE GENERAL THEORY OF VALUE]
| CHAPTER I ECONOMIC VALUE | |
|---|---|
| PAGE | |
| Problem of value of money special case of general theory of value; present chapter concerned with general theory | [1] |
| Formal and logical aspects of value: value as quality; value as quantity; value and wealth | [5-6] |
| Absolute vs. relative conceptions of value: value of money vs. "reciprocal of price-level"; value prior to exchange; value and exchangeability; do prices correctly express values? | [6-12] |
| Doctrine so far in accord with main current of economic opinion | [12-14] |
| Causal theory of value new: marginal utility, labor theory, etc., rejected | [14-16] |
| Social explanation required: "individual" a social product, both in history of individual and in history of race | [16-19] |
| And above individual impersonal psychic forces, law, public opinion, morality, economic values | [19-20] |
| Three types of theory have dealt with these: theory of extra-human objective forces; extreme individualism; social value theory | [20-21] |
| Illustrated in jurisprudence, ethics, and economic theory | [21-26] |
| Law, morals, and economic values generically alike, but have differentiæ | [26-28] |
| But not differentiated on basis of states of consciousness of individual immediately moved by them, because many minds in organic interplay involved | [28-33] |
| Economic social value (a) of consumers' goods and services:"utility" and scarcity; "marginal utility"; social explanationof marginal utility; marginal utilities the consciousfocus of economic values of consumers' goods; butonly minor part of these values; individuals, classes andinstitutions heavily weighted by legal, moral, and othersocial values, in power over economic values of consumers'goods | [33-38] |
| Economic social value (b) of labor, land, stocks, bonds, "good will," etc.; based only in part on values of consumers' goods; partially independent, directly influenced by contagion, and centers of power and prestige | [38-41] |
| Pragmatic character of theory | [41-43] |
| Relation of social values to individual values | [43-45] |
| CHAPTER II SUPPLY AND DEMAND, AND THE VALUE OF MONEY | |
| Hiatus between general theory of value and theory of value of money | [46-47] |
| Partly because former has been developed by different writers from those who have developed latter | [47-49] |
| But chiefly because supply and demand, cost of production, etc., assume fixed value of money, and are theories of price, rather than value | [49] |
| Supply and demand useful but superficial formula, common property of many value theories | [49-50] |
| Crude and unanalyzed in Smith and Ricardo; first made precise by J. S. Mill, who gives essentials of modern doctrine | [49-51] |
| Böhm-Bawerk's pseudo-psychology spoils Mill's clean-cut doctrine | [51-52] |
| Supply and demand assumes fixed value of money-unit, and hence inapplicable to money itself | [52-56] |
| But supply and demand does not assume fixed price-level | [56-57] |
| Cairnes vs. Mill | [57-58] |
| Mill's unsuccessful effort to apply supply and demand to money | [59-62] |
| Walker's attempt | [62] |
| Supply and demand in the "money market" | [62-63] |
| CHAPTER III COST OF PRODUCTION AND THE VALUE OF MONEY | |
| Types of cost theory: modern cost doctrine is "money costs" doctrine, and inapplicable to value of money | [64] |
| Labor cost: Smith; Ricardo; Ricardo's confession of failure; "real costs" in Senior and Cairnes; Mill's "money-outlay" cost doctrine, and Cairnes' criticism; but "money-cost" has survived | [64-67] |
| Because "real cost" doctrine does not square with facts | [67-69] |
| "Money-cost" of producing money-metal | [69-70] |
| Austrian cost doctrine runs still in money terms, assuming value, money, and fixed value of money | [70-71] |
| "Negative social values" as "real costs" | note, [71] |
| CHAPTER IV THE CAPITALIZATION THEORY AND THE VALUE OF MONEY | |
| Money as "capital good," and "money-rates" as rentals | [72-73] |
| Capitalization theory; formula; capital value passive resultant of annual income and rate of discount | [73-74] |
| But in case of money, rental and rate of discount not independent variables | [74-76] |
| And in case of money, capital value not passive shadow, but active cause of income | [76] |
| Capitalization theory assumes money, and fixed value of money | [76-77] |
| Assumed fixed value of money absolute, and not relative | [77-78] |
| Capitalization theory, in current formulation, inapplicable to value of money | [78-79] |
| CHAPTER V MARGINAL UTILITY AND THE VALUE OF MONEY | |
| Marginal utility theory usually thinly disguised version of supply and demand, and hence inapplicable to money | [80] |
| View that money is unique in having no utility per se | [81-83] |
| Marginal utility and "commodity theory" of money-value | [81-82] |
| Quantity theorists and marginal utility of money | [81-82] |
| Money an instrumental good, and marginal utility no less applicable here than elsewhere; marginal utility invalid as general theory of value, hence invalid when applied to money | [82-120] |
| Wieser's theory of value of money | [83-88] |
| A circle in reasoning | [88-90] |
| Schumpeter's similar circle | [100] |
| But Schumpeter's general utility theory, though inapplicable to value of money, in form avoids a causal circle | [90-98] |
| Schumpeter's conspectus; different from Böhm-Bawerk and most utility theorists | [90-92], [113-120] |
| Defects and limitations of Schumpeter's general theory | [90-98] |
| Schumpeter's substitutes for social value concept | [98-99] |
| Von Mises sees circle of Wieser and Schumpeter | [100] |
| Seeks to avoid it by construing utility theory as historical, instead of static, theory | [101] |
| But this departs from fundamentals of utility theory; other difficulties | [101-110] |
| Kinley's doctrine | [110-111] |
| General criticism of utility theory | [111-115] |
| Davenport, Wicksteed, Fisher, Perry | [113-120] |
[PART II. THE QUANTITY THEORY]
| CHAPTER VI THE QUANTITY THEORY OF PRICES. INTRODUCTION | |
|---|---|
| Preliminary statement of quantity theory, and of criticaltheses to be developed in following chapters. Virtuallyevery contention and every assumption of quantitytheory to be challenged | [123-129] |
| CHAPTER VII DODO-BONES | |
| Quantity theory doctrine that valueless objects can serve asmoney; Nicholson's assumption: money made of dodo-bones | [130-131] |
| Fisher's view also | [130] |
| And Ricardo's | [131-132] |
| Will dodo-bones circulate? Dodo-bones and poker chips;circular reasoning | [132] |
| Both medium of exchange and standard of value must bevaluable | [133] |
| Is inconvertible paper an exception? | [133-134] |
| Doctrine that money gives legal claim to things in general | [134] |
| Kemmerer's assumptions; money made of commodity, oncevaluable, now used only as money | [135] |
| Commodity theory requires present commodity value | [135] |
| Historical vs. cross-section view: possibility that such moneywould circulate | [135-136] |
| Value not tied up with marginal utility or commodities:social value theory; derived values often become independentof original presuppositions, in economic aswell as legal and moral spheres | [136-139] |
| But this no basis for quantity theory: social psychology, notmechanics | [139] |
| "Banker's psychology" vs. psychology of blind habit: India,Austria, United States; monetary phenomena of wartimes; "credit theory" of Greenbacks | [139-142] |
| Question-begging definitions | [142-143] |
| Assumptions of quantity theory: blind habit and fluid prices | [143-144] |
| Extreme commodity theory denies that money-use adds tovalue of money; usually not true; analysis of money-functions | [144-150] |
| Hypothetical case in which whole value of money comes fromcommodity value | [150-152] |
| Money must have value apart from monetary employments,but, in general, gains additional value from employmentas money | [152-153] |
| CHAPTER VIII THE "EQUATION OF EXCHANGE" | |
| Fisher leading, most consistent, most uncompromisingquantity theorist: wide acceptance of his views | [154] |
| Taussig vs. Fisher | [155] |
| Fisher and dodo-bone doctrine: logical part of quantitytheory; Fisher's value concept | [155-156] |
| "Equation of exchange": analysis of Fisher's version, typicalof all | [156-171] |
| In what sense equality between two sides of equation? Meaningof "T" | [158-161] |
| No "goods side" to equation; both sides sums of money;equal because identical; equation meaningless | [161-162] |
| All factors in equation highly abstract | [162-163] |
| "P" and "T" cannot both be given independent definitions:P defined as weighted average, with T in denominator;and must be changed from year to year, as elements in Tchange, even though no prices change | [164-166] |
| This makes circular theory: problem defined in terms of explanation | [165-166] |
| Causal theory associated with equation of exchange | [166] |
| Equation amplified to include credit; not acceptable toNicholson or Walker, and caricature of conditions inGermany and France | [166-170] |
| Book-credit, bills of exchange, etc., excluded | [167-170] |
| Why a one-year period? | [170-171] |
| CHAPTER IX THE VOLUME OF MONEY AND THE VOLUME OF CREDIT | |
| Mill thought credit acts on prices like money, and that thisreduces quantity theory tendency to indeterminatedegree; Fisher holds volume of money in circulation governsvolume of credit, so that quantity theory stands | [172] |
| Fisher's arguments for fixed ratio, money to bank-deposits | [172-173] |
| Argument a non-sequitur, even if contentions true | [173-177] |
| Contentions untrue: no fixed ratio between reserves and deposits,or reserves and demand liabilities, either inAmerica or Europe | [177-182] |
| Taussig's views; virtually surrender of quantity theory inmodern conditions | [182-185] |
| Bulk of quantity theorists in between Fisher and Taussig,but nearer to Fisher's view than to Taussig's | [185] |
| CHAPTER X "NORMAL" VS. "TRANSITIONAL" TENDENCIES | |
| Quantity theory qualified by distinction between "normal"and "transitional" effects of change in quantity ofmoney, etc. | [186] |
| Meaning of distinction, and extent of qualification hard todetermine: is "normal period" real period in time?How long is "transitional period"? Is it realistic, orhypothetical? Is equation of exchange realistic? Concretevs. hypothetical price-levels | [186-189] |
| Legitimate and illegitimate abstraction | [189-190] |
| Causation and temporal order | [190-191] |
| Fisher admits very slight qualification of "normal theory" | [192] |
| Mill's quantity theory "short run" theory; Taussig's "longrun" theory; radically different logic in the two | [192-193] |
| Fisher's theory sometimes "long run" and sometimes "shortrun" | [194-195] |
| CHAPTER XI BARTER | |
| Quantity theory spoiled if resort to barter possible and important | [196] |
| Extent of barter and other flexible substitutes for money andbank-credit; simple barter; different methods of corporateconsolidations; flexibility, with state of money-market;clearing-house arrangements in speculative exchanges;offsetting book-credits | [197-200] |
| Barter made easier under money economy, by measure ofvalue function of money | [201] |
| Bills of exchange; foreign trade | [201] |
| CHAPTER XII VELOCITY OF CIRCULATION | |
| Velocity conceived by quantity theory as causal entity,independent of quantity of money and prices; necessaryassumption for law of proportionality | [203] |
| "Coin-transfer" vs. "person-turnover" concepts | [203-204] |
| Velocity really non-essential by-product, meaningless average | [204-205] |
| Doctrine that velocity independent of money; habit and convenience;hoarding; hoarding by banks | [205-209] |
| Velocity and volume of trade; vary together | [209-214] |
| Value of money causally governs velocity | [214-215] |
| CHAPTER XIII THE VOLUME OF MONEY AND THE VOLUME OF TRADE—TRADE AND SPECULATION | |
| Quantity theory doctrine that volume of trade, and volumeof money (and credit), are independent; trade governedby physical and technical conditions, not money | [216-219] |
| View that quantity of money vitally affects production andtrade | [219] |
| Walker, Sombart, Withers, Price, Holt | [219-222] |
| Increase of money increases trade, even on static theory:increase of money increase of capital; lowered margin inexchanges; money-rates and interest; money tool ofexchange; elasticity of demand for money-service; inArizona and New York City | [222-225] |
| Trade distinguished from production and from stock | [225-226] |
| Trade chiefly speculation; Fisher's $387,000,000,000 of tradein U. S. in 1909 analyzed; index of variation in trade;figure based on Kinley's returns from 12,000 banks;double-counting | [227-230] |
| Figure largely represents speculation; statistics of totalwealth of U. S.; small rôle of wholesale and retail deposits;"all other deposits" bunched in speculative centers,especially New York; trifling "deposits" in countrybanks; evidence of bank-clearings: clearings and stockspeculation; clearings and ordinary business | [230-241] |
| Measurement of "ordinary trade" | [241-248] |
| Volume of stock speculation | [248-251] |
| Commodity speculation | [251-252] |
| Unorganized speculation | [252-254] |
| Bill and note speculation | [255] |
| Fisher's and Kemmerer's indicia of trade variation whollymisleading | [255-257] |
| Production waits on trade; selling costs vs. "cost of production";"good will"; are banks useless? | [257-262] |
| "Normal vs. transitional": statics vs. dynamics; money andcredit make static assumptions possible; very little tradein "normal equilibrium" or static state; volume of tradedepends on transitions and dynamic changes; functionaltheory of money and credit must be dynamic theory;abstraction from money by static theory; no statictheory of money and credit possible; quantity theorymisses whole point of money-functions | [262-266] |
| APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XIII THE RELATION OF FOREIGN TO DOMESTIC TRADE IN THE UNITED STATES | |
| Ambiguity of "domestic trade": figures comparable withexport and import figures cannot include turnovers; netincome of United States, minus imports on retail basis,counted as domestic trade; exports on retail basiscounted as foreign trade; net income for 1910; index ofvariation for other years; cautions and qualifications;ratio of foreign to domestic trade, 1890-1916 | [267-278] |
| CHAPTER XIV THE VOLUME OF TRADE AND THE VOLUME OF MONEY AND CREDIT | |
| Interdependence of trade, and money (and credit); increasingtrade causes increase of money and credit | [279-281] |
| Quantity theory doctrine: Fisher vs. Laughlin | [281-282] |
| Quantity theory has no explanation of elastic bank credit:"Currency Theory" of deposits | [282-285] |
| Loans and deposits | [285-288] |
| Bills of exchange | [288-290] |
| Summary of quantity theory doctrine | [290-291] |
| CHAPTER XV THE QUANTITY THEORY: THE "PASSIVENESS OF PRICES" | |
| Heart of quantity theory: price-level cannot change withoutprior change in money, deposits, trade, or velocities:independently rising price-level, unable to alter trade orvelocities, would drive money away, and so be unable tosustain itself; individual prices can rise independently,but other prices must fall to compensate | [292-295] |
| Criticism: argument impressive only because it assumes anuncaused rise in general price-level; when causes assigned,prices can independently rise, compelling modificationin other factors in "equation of exchange"; "transitional"and "normal" effects: instances | [295-299] |
| Quantity theory conflicts with supply and demand: supplyand demand holds good: particular prices and price-level | [299-300] |
| Generalization of conflict to include cost of production,capitalization theory, imputation theory | [300] |
| Capitalization theory vs. quantity theory; different psychologicalassumptions of the two theories | [300-306] |
| Cost of production vs. quantity theory; money-income vs.quantity of money | [306-308] |
| Quantity theory false, granting all its assumptions | [308-310] |
| Doctrine that price-level independent of particular prices,and presupposed by them, false; absolute value of money,not price-level, presupposed; price-level may changewith value of money constant, through changes in absolutevalues of goods | [310-314] |
| CHAPTER XVI THE QUANTITY THEORY AND INTERNATIONAL GOLD MOVEMENTS | |
| Quantity theory holds that gold movements depend onprice-levels; but price-level mere average, cause of nothing | [315-316] |
| Some prices, rising, tend to repel gold, but most prices haveno such effect | [316-317] |
| Some prices, rising, bring in gold | [317-319] |
| Gold movements and money-rates | [319-320] |
| CHAPTER XVII | |
| THE QUANTITY THEORY vs. GRESHAM'S LAW | [321-323] |
| CHAPTER XVIII THE QUANTITY THEORY AND "WORLD PRICES" | |
| Types of quantity theory: world's volume of gold vs. quantityof money in given country; standard vs. token money;abandonment of dodo-bone theory and "equation ofexchange" | [324-326] |
| Credit does not rest on money: measure of values vs. reserves;loans and wealth; value of money vs. price-level | [326-328] |
| Loose relation of reserves and credit in world as whole; noproportionality of quantity of gold to value of gold; noquantity theory needed to assert that value of gold relatedto its quantity | [328-330] |
| CHAPTER XIX STATISTICAL DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE QUANTITY THEORY—THE REDISCOVERY OF A BURIED CITY | |
| Criticism of quantity theory statistics yields constructiveconclusions; Mitchell and Greenbacks; Kemmerer's andFisher's statistics of "equation of exchange"; Kemmerer'scriticism of earlier statistics | [331-335] |
| Kemmerer's and Fisher's figures all wrong except for volumeof money and deposits, and prices in base year; if correct,would not prove quantity theory | [335-337] |
| Fisher's statistics, resting on Kemmerer's, chiefly studied:their relation to Kinley's "deposits" figures | [337-338] |
| M´V´ calculated: errors in calculation; New York very incompletein Kinley's figures; private banks and trust companies;clearings and "deposits," in New York andoutside; "total transactions" and clearings; Fisher exaggeratescountry checks by at least 116 billions, for 1909;major part of all "check deposits" in New York City | [348-353] |
| New York as "clearing house" for United States: extent of,and influence of on New York clearings, much overestimated;bulk of New York clearings and New York"deposits" grow out of New York business | [353-361] |
| Index of variation for M´V´ wrongly weighted; V´ wronglycalculated for all years; which upsets calculation of V | [361-363] |
| Volume of trade: greatly exaggerated by bank transactions,which include vast deal of duplications in checks, loansand repayments, etc. | [363-368] |
| Fisher's reply; undercounting offsets overcounting | [368-369] |
| Main items of undercounting in clearing houses of speculativeexchanges; measurement of, in New York StockExchange, and Chicago Board of Trade; swamped bycall loan transactions, which exceed security sales | [369-381] |
| Price-indexes of Kemmerer and Fisher, dominated by wholesaleprices, have no relevance to their "equations of exchange" | [381-383] |
| In general, their figures bury speculation and New York City | [383] |
[PART III. THE VALUE OF MONEY]
| CHAPTER XX RECAPITULATION OF POSITIVE DOCTRINE | |
|---|---|
| Recapitulation of constructive theses of Parts I and II, andprogram of Parts III and IV | [387-396] |
| CHAPTER XXI THE ORIGIN OF MONEY, AND THE VALUE OF GOLD | |
| Problem stated | [397-401] |
| Value vs. saleability: degrees of saleability; theory of saleability;"buying price" vs. "selling price"; indirect exchangein barter economy; development of commodity of superiorsaleability into money | [401-406] |
| Money never unique | [406-407] |
| Origin of gold money: ornament; store of value; social prestigeof prodigality and of ornament; love of approbation,sex-impulse, and competitive display; elastic value-curveof gold; industrial employments of gold | [407-413] |
| Distribution of wealth and power, and value of gold | [413-416] |
| CHAPTER XXII THE FUNCTIONS OF MONEY AND THE VALUE OF MONEY | |
| Classification | [417-418] |
| Measure of values (standard of value) distinguished frommedium of exchange; former does not add value tomoney metal, latter does | [418-424] |
| Reserve function | [424] |
| Money as "bearer of options"; distinguished from store ofvalue; the dynamic function of money par excellence; explanationof low rates on call loans, and short loans, andlow yield of high grade bonds, which share "bearer ofoptions" function; "pure rate" of interest vs. "moneyrates": Austria; the New York money market | [424-432] |
| Legal tender; the Staatliche Theorie | [432-436] |
| Standard of deferred payments; which functions add to valueof money metal? | [436] |
| Relation of money rates to capital value of money | [436-442] |
| Agio when coinage is restricted: India vs. Western World | [442-450] |
| Equilibrium of gold in arts and gold as money: difficulties ofmarginal analysis; the money-market phenomena | [450-458] |
| CHAPTER XXIII CREDIT | |
| Analysis rather than definition: "futurity" not essence ofcredit; credit part of general value system; stocks ascredit instruments; juridical and accounting phases | [459-462] |
| Confidence; involved in general value phenomena as well ascredit; social psychology of confidence; contagions; influenceof centers of prestige; nothing unique in credit;selling vs. borrowing | [462-469] |
| Definition of credit; credit vs. credit transaction; credit andexchange; bulk of credit grows out of dynamic conditions | [469-474] |
| Functions of credit; increasing saleability of non-pecuniarywealth; corporate organization; limits of credit expansion | [475-478] |
| Consideration of objections: that personal loans do not reston wealth; public loans; that value behind loan wouldnot exist if loan were not made | [478-484] |
| Schumpeter's "heresies"; his view of the function of thebanker: "dynamic credit"; America vs. ContinentalEurope | [484-488] |
| Peculiarities and functions of bank credit; technique ofbanking: capital; assets; reserves; "liquidity"; moneymarket | [488-496] |
| CHAPTER XXIV CREDIT—BANK ASSETS AND BANK RESERVES | |
| Traditional view that liquid commercial loans normal anddominant type of bank asset disproved; cannot exceed11½ per cent of assets of American banks; analysis ofbank assets: "other loans and discounts"; stock collateralloans; loans on "other collateral security";stocks and bonds held by banks; classes of banks; variouscombinations; excluding real estate loans, morethan half of credit extended by State and nationalbanks and trust companies is to stock market; rapiddevelopment of stock collateral loans: New York;Europe | [498-512] |
| Activity of different types of loans: banking assets getliquidity chiefly from stock market, and from producespeculators | [512-516] |
| Credit extended to Wall Street not at expense of ordinarycommerce; country banks and Wall Street | [516-518] |
| Federal Reserve Banks should rediscount stock collateralloans; "Money Trust" a trust in financing corporations,not ordinary commerce; panics and Federal ReserveSystem | [520] |
| Quantity theory, putting all exchanges on a par, grotesque:volume of trade and prices in the stock market | [520-523] |
| Direct and indirect financing of corporations by banks;"margin dealer" as "banker" | [523-526] |
| Adam Smith's view of banker's functions, and of safe bankloans | [526] |
| Correct on basis of facts of his day, but corporate organizationand organized stock market have made smeltinghouse as liquid as consumers' goods | [527] |
| Division of labor in banking: America vs. Germany | [527-528] |
| Agriculture in money market | [528-529] |
| Reserve problem: special case of problem of liquid assets;many flexible substitutes for cash | [529-532] |
| Causal relation runs from deposits to reserves; gold productionand reserve-ratio | [532-535] |
| No static law or "normal ratio" possible; reserve functionentirely dynamic function; reserve not needed in "staticstate"; illustrated by London money market; "idealcredit economy" | [536-544] |
[PART IV. THE RECONCILIATION OF STATICS AND DYNAMICS]
| CHAPTER XXV THE RECONCILIATION OF STATICS AND DYNAMICS | |
|---|---|
| Theory of money as focus of general economic theory, exhibitinginterdependence of doctrines; basis of furtherunification of statics and dynamics in higher synthesis | [547-548] |
| Statics vs. dynamics, normal vs. transitional, and related contrasts;illustrations; divergent lines of doctrine: tariffs,wars, overproduction, extravagance, etc. | [548-552] |
| Statics quantitative; dynamics qualitative | [552-553] |
| Statics and dynamics both abstract | [553-554] |
| Dynamics and "friction" | [554-555] |
| "Theory of prosperity" and dynamics | [555-556] |
| Statics and cross-section analysis; statics as price-theory; dynamics as value-theory | [556-560] |
| Generalization of statics: price-theory applied to dynamicphenomena: capitalization; costs; "taxonomy;" "discounting"dynamic changes; money the static measuring-rod:wide scope of money-measure; measurement ofnon-economic values | [560-569] |
| Generalization of dynamics: all values, whether of wheat or "good will," have social psychological explanation; technological and biological factors, and the static equilibrium; business cycles | [569-575] |
| Business man vs. economic theorist, and value-theory; manipulation of values and prices | [575-578] |
| Statics and time | [578-580] |
| Immaterial capital | [580-582] |
| Statics and dynamics have not different subject-matter | [583-586] |
| Equilibrium of all social values: statics and dynamics of the law: social forces and social control | [586-589] |
| Summary of Part IV | [589-591] |