Modern Monetary Theory

Book Contents

• Preface

1. The Journey Begins
2. Two Paths

• Adventure Notes
• William Mitchell
• Warren Mosler

3. The Two Paths Meet

• Adventure Notes
• The Post Keynesian Thought E-mail Listserv
• Exploring The Pkt Archives
• Conclusion

4. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) 101

• Adventure Notes
• Introduction
• The Emergence Of Fiat Currencies
• MMT As A Lens
• The MMT Money Story And Sequence
• Let’s Do Some Arithmetic
• Understanding The Constraints On Government Spending
• How Does MMT Help Us Understand The Real-world Economy
• How Are You Going To Pay For It?
• The Cause Of Mass Unemployment
• Governments Do Not Save
• All Spending Growth At Market Prices Carries An Inflation Risk
• What Is The T In MMT About?
• The Minsky Diversion

5. The Job Guarantee – Historical Context

• Adventure Notes
• The Historical Context – The 1970s Economic Malaise Spawns An Idea

6. The Job Guarantee – Basic Principles And Issues

• Adventure Notes
• What Is This Chapter About?
• The Unemployment Buffer Stock Approach
• Employment Buffer Stocks
• The Job Guarantee Becomes An Additional Automatic Stabiliser
• Inflation Control Under The Job Guarantee
• The Naiber
• Would The Naiber Be Higher Than The Nairu?
• The Wool Price Stabilisation Failed – So Why Wouldn’t The Job Guarantee Fail To?
• The Job Guarantee Flattens The Phillips Curve

7. A Letter To The Minister

• Boondoggling And Raking
• The Job Guarantee Proposal Goes To The Australian Minister of Employment
• The Minister Replies And Demonstrates A Failure To Understand
• The Currency His Government Issues
• Job Guarantee Versus A Basic Income Guarantee
• The Job Guarantee As An Evolutionary Force
• Warren And The Job Guarantee
  Warren – Promoting The Job Guarantee As A Transition Job

8. The Full Employment Fiscal Deficit Condition

• Adventure Notes
• Fiscal Sustainability Is Defined In Resource Rather Than
• Financial Terms
• The Full Employment Fiscal Deficit Condition
• Automatic Fiscal Stabilisers
• Context Matters
• Full Employment Fiscal Deficit Condition

9. Central Banks And All That

• Adventure Notes
• The Consolidated Central Bank And Treasury
• Interest Rates
• Bank Reserves And Inflation
• The Role Of Bank Deposits In MMT
• Can Central Banks Go Broke?
• Are Central Banks Independent?

10. Inflation And Monetary Policy – Central Banks Going Rogue

• Adventure Notes
• The Brave New NAIRU World – The Worst Of The Worst!
• Brief Recap From Chapter 9
• Why Might The Impact Of Interest Rates Vary Across Nations?
• What About The Current Inflationary Pressures?
• Which Is What Has Happened
• The Rogue Central Banks

11. MMT And International Trade

• Adventure Notes
• A Focus On Real Resources
• Understanding Trade And Finance
• Sustainable Policy Space For A Trading Nation
• Is Fiscal Policy Constrained By The Balance-of-payments?
• Other Trade Deficit Issues
• The Plight Of Lower Income Nations And Industry Policy

12. MMT Barbarians Enter The Gates Of Canberra

• Adventure Notes
• Australian Government Announces It Doesn’t Have Enough Outstanding Debt!
• Financial Stability As A Public Good
• The Purported Benefits Of Commonwealth Government Securities Issuance
• Managing Financial Risk
• Providing A Long-term Investment Vehicle
• Implementing Monetary Policy
• Providing A Safe Haven
• Attracting Foreign Capital Inflow
• Reduced Cost Of Capital
• The Real Economic Costs Of Issuing Government Debt
• Further Thoughts

13. Japan – The MMT Laboratory

• Adventure Notes
• The Irony Of It All
• Japan Confounds The Mainstream Macroeconomists
• Are They ‘doing’ MMT Or What?
• The Repeating Sales Tax Mistakes
• Bank Of Japan Holds Its Nerve While The Rest Of The World Hiked Rates
• The Currency Is Depreciating – MMT Is Obviously Wrong!
• The Monetary Institutions Are The Same – But Culture Dictates
• The Choices Made

14. A Conversation With William Mitchell And Warren Mosler

• Adventure Notes
• References