The Theory of Money and Credit

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The Theory of Money and Credit is an economics book written by Ludwig von Mises, originally published in German as Theorie des Geldes und der Umlaufsmittel in 1912. Along with Carl Menger's Principles of Economics, and Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk's Capital and Interest, this work was a major contribution to economic theory.

Its first English translation was published in 1934, and Part Four was added by Mises to the English language edition in 1953. In this work, Mises looks at the nature and value of money, and its effect on determining monetary policy. Included is his regression theorem, that tries to explain why money is demanded in its own right, as moneys at first glance do not serve a consumable need. Mises explained that moneys only can come about after there was a demand for the money commodity in a barter economy.

The German word Umlaufsmittel literally translates as "means of circulation" and was translated into the text of the English version as "fiduciary media". However, the publisher thought the unusual terminology would irritate readers and substituted "money and credit" in the title, thereby losing the specific distinction Mises had made in selecting his original term.^[1]

Contents 1 Contents 2 Publication history 3 See also 4 External links 5 References

[edit] Contents

• Prefaces
  • Foreword, by Murray N. Rothbard (1981) Full text
  • Preface to the [1952] Edition
  • Introduction, by Lionel Robbins (1934)
  • Preface to the English Edition (1934)
  • Preface to the Second German Edition (1924)
• Part One: The Nature of Money
  • 1. The Function of Money
  • 2. On the Measurement of Value
  • 3. The Various Kinds of Money
  • 4. Money and the State
  • 5. Money as an Economic Good
  • 6. The Enemies of Money
• Part Two: The Value of Money
  • 7. The Concept of the Value of Money
  • 8. The Determinants of the Objective Exchange Value, or Purchasing Power, of Money
  • 9. The Problem of the Existence of Local Differences in the Objective Exchange Value of Money
  • 10. The Exchange Ratio Between Money of Different Kinds
  • 11. The Problem of Measuring the Objective Exchange Value of Money and Variations in It
  • 12. The Social Consequences of Variations in the Objective Exchange Value of Money
  • 13. Monetary Policy
  • 14. The Monetary Policy of Etatism
• Part Three: Money and Banking
  • 15. The Business of Banking
  • 16. The Evolution of Fiduciary Media
  • 17. Fiduciary Media and the Demand for Money
  • 18. The Redemption of Fiduciary Media
  • 19. Money, Credit, and Interest
  • 20. Problems of Credit Policy
• Part Four: Monetary Reconstruction
  • 21. The Principle of Sound Money
  • 22. Contemporary Currency Systems
  • 23. The Return to Sound Money

• Appendix A: On the Classification of Monetary Theories
• Appendix B: Translator's Note on the Translation of Certain Technical Terms

[edit] Publication history

• 1981: Indianapolis,. Ind. Liberty Classics. ISBN 0-913966-70-3. 541 pages. Hardcover. (Softcover ISBN 0-913966-71-1).
• 1978: Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y.: Foundation for Economic Education.
• 1971: Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y.: Foundation for Economic Education.
• 1953: New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press.
• 1934: London: Jonathan Cape Ltd. First translation (by Harold E. Batson) into English from the original German.
• 1924: 2nd edition in German.
• 1912: Vienna: Theorie des Geldes und der Umlaufsmittel. (1914 review by J.M. Keynes]

[edit] See also

• Austrian school

[edit] External links

• The Theory of Money and Credit, 1953 edition, Full text in HTML format (also in PDF format).
• The Theory of Money and Credit, 1981 edition, Full text in HTML format
• Foreword to the 1981 Edition by Murray Rothbard.

[edit] References

v • d • e Selected books by Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) The Theory of Money and Credit (1912) • Socialism (1922) • Liberalism (1927) • Omnipotent Government (1944) • Bureaucracy (1945) • Human Action (1949) • The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality (1956)